Revelations
by Merula
Summary: AU, OOC, Takes place during the series.
1. Shootout

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. This kind of starts in the middle of the action. So what else is new?  
  
"You okay?' Wolfwood helped Millie to her feet.  
  
"Just fine." Millie frowned at the now unconscious forms of the gang that had surrounded her and Meryl in the lobby of the hotel. Vash was holstering his gun next to her.  
  
"What did they want with you big girl?"  
  
"I don't know really. They said something about being after the bounty- but that got put on hold didn't it? So either they were really dumb or they didn't know. Ma'am was telling them so and then they started shooting." Millie touched the small scratch on her temple with gentle fingers. Wolfwood frowned. It had been too damn close.  
  
"Where is the small girl?" Vash glanced around the lobby. "Insurance girl?" He raised his voice. No answer.  
  
"We had to separate... they were all shooting at us...." Millie began to sound a bit panicked. Vash began to move quickly, searching the room.  
  
"Insurance girl? Meryl! Damnit! Where are you?"  
  
"Help?" A faint voice answered him. "Can you help us?" Vash turned and saw the clerk, a child and Meryl behind the counter. Meryl was lying still, eyes closed, the clerk holding a bloody cloth against her chest. "Is this your friend Mister? She grabbed my Susie and dove over the counter with her when they started shooting. Then she just slumped over- took me a minute to realize she was shot."  
  
"Yes," Vash knelt down next to them and placed a hand on Meryl's throat. Her pulse thrummed under his fingers, her breath wasn't wheezy- sounding. Thank goodness. He took a deep breath.  
  
"She okay, spiky?" Wolfwood leaned over the counter.  
  
"We got to get her to a doctor..." Vash looked at the clerk as he undid Meryl's cloak. He didn't want to have to explain all her derringers to a doctor. "Where's the nearest one?"  
  
"Down the street about a block." Vash carefully picked up Meryl, one of his hands covering her wound.  
  
"I'll take her. Wolfwood- you send Millie for the Sheriff and stay here to make sure none of these morons wake up."  
  
"You got it Vash."  
  
The doctor's office was very clean. The nurse took one look at Meryl and immediately went for the doctor. Vash laid Meryl down carefully on an examining table, his hand keeping a steady pressure on her wound. She was pale and waxy-looking under the bright office lights. "Hang in there insurance girl," he murmured to her. The doctor came in, a concerned look on his pleasant face. He asked Vash to lift up the cloth so he could see the wound.  
  
"Hm.. stopped bleeding, didn't seem to hit the lung- just above really. Lucky girl. We'll have to pull the bullet out though." The doctor turned and gave quick instructions to the nurse as he cut away the fabric around the wound. He looked at Vash. "I'm assuming you want to stay young man- but if you don't, there's no shame in it."  
  
"I'll stay." The nurse returned in a moment with the tray of instruments. She handed Vash a wet towel.  
  
"For your hand, sir," she said gently. Vash looked down at his hand. It was red with blood- her blood. He scrubbed at it for a moment, he didn't want her blood on his hands. If she kept following him around like this... but how could he stop her? She always managed to find him! He knew that was a lame excuse. He could make her stop- he just didn't want to.  
  
It took only a few minutes for the doctor to pull out the bullet. He looked at it with a sigh. "One of those dang Cowboy gang bullets. When are they gonna stop shooting up this town and hurting innocent people?"  
  
"They've done this before?" Vash asked looking up.  
  
"Oh yes. There's about five of 'em- they ride into town shooting their guns and terrorizing the people who live here. They've injured quite a few and always manage to leave right before the sheriff gets there. They haven't actually killed anyone yet, and there is only 5 of em, so the Cavalry hasn't come to help yet." The doctor stitched up the wound.  
  
"Five of them?" Vash mentally calculated the number of men he'd seen laying around the lobby. "I think the sheriff has them now."  
  
"That would be good news. Are you sure?"  
  
"Pretty sure."  
  
"Great! Who did it? The mayor put a bounty on their heads- I kept thinking it was a mistake since they're always bragging about it to strangers- trying to provoke a fight." The light clicked on in Vash's head. That's the bounty they meant- not the one on his head- the one on theirs! That made more sense since everyone knew that his bounty had been suspended- he was too dangerous to capture. Vash smiled faintly at the thought.  
  
"All done." The doctor smiled and began bandaging the wound. "She should wake up soon. You're welcome to stay here until she does."  
  
"Thanks doc- how much do I owe you?"  
  
"Didn't you see the sign? We're a nonprofit clinic. If you can make a donation before you leave that would be great. If you can't- don't worry about it." The doctor patted his shoulder kindly. "Your girl is going to be fine. Make sure she gets plenty of rest the next few days, okay?"  
  
"Okay." The doctor smiled again and vanished out the door. Vash sat down carefully on the edge of the table and took Meryl's hand. The color was returning to her face slowly. He interlaced her fingers with his, unthinkingly and held her cold hand to his cheek. "You really scared me this time, small insurance girl." He said softly to the unconscious girl. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of her small cold hand against his skin. She was alive, he reminded himself, the adrenaline surge that had kept him moving since he saw her lying on the floor in the lobby was finally dying down. A tear slid down his cheek, dampening her hand. So close- too close...  
  
Meryl awoke to a dull feeling of pain- in her chest, in her head and in her hand. She remembered the goons coming into the lobby yelling about a bounty- they had aimed at that little girl... she remembered the searing pain in her chest, her head hitting the floor- well that accounted for two out of three. She opened her eyes, blinking against the light. Vash was sitting next to her, his hand holding hers against his cheek. He was squeezing a bit too tightly, but that was a minor concern. He looked upset. Hell, she could practically feel the unhappiness radiating off of him. But why? This wasn't his fault. Why did he always blame himself? She turned her hand gently in his to cup his cheek.  
  
"Are you okay, Mr. Vash?" His green eyes focused down on her and his face lit up.  
  
"You're awake! How are you feeling?" He asked anxiously.  
  
"My head hurts, this hurts..." she touched her chest with her free hand. "Did I get stitches?" Vash released her hand.  
  
"The doc had to pull out a bullet. You were lucky. It missed hitting your lung." Meryl's eyes opened a bit wider.  
  
"How about that little girl- is she..."  
  
"She's fine. Everyone's okay except for you. The big girl had already knocked out three of em by the time Wolfwood and I arrived. The doc said those guys were a real menace- even had a bounty on their heads."  
  
"So that's what those idiots were talking about!" Meryl groaned a bit and tried to sit up.  
  
"Careful!" Vash moved to slide an arm around her shoulder for support.  
  
"Please tell me I don't have to stay here- I hate hospitals."  
  
"It's a clinic, not a hospital. And no- doc said as long as you're careful we can go."  
  
"Great!" Meryl slid out of bed carefully, clinging to Vash for support. "Ouch..."  
  
"Ouch?"  
  
"Must've pulled a muscle in my leg jumping over the couch. I can walk it out." Vash sighed. He bent down and swept an arm under her legs, easily picking her up. "Hey!"  
  
"C'mon, insurance girl. The last thing I need is to have you fall and tear those stitches open. Besides, the doc had to cut away your blouse on this side," he nodded towards the side closest to his chest. "This way no pervert can try anything while we're going back to the hotel."  
  
"Except you of course." Meryl grumbled halfheartedly. It really was nice to be in his arms, even if she hurt like hell.  
  
"I'll be a gentleman," Vash said teasingly. "This time."  
  
Wolfwood and Millie were in the lobby with the Sheriff and his men. The Cowboys had been handcuffed and led off to jail. Millie's eyes lit up when she saw Vash enter with Meryl.  
  
"Ma'am!"  
  
"This your superior, Miss?" the sheriff asked.  
  
"Yes. Are you okay, Ma'am?"  
  
"I will be. Though right now I want to go lay down." She looked at the sheriff.  
  
"I'm sure you do," the sheriff was a lanky brown-haired man with a frown. "But first can you try and talk some sense into this girl? She took out 3 of the bounty hunters, so she gets 3/5ths of the reward, but she doesn't want to take it." He looked at Vash. "According to this gentleman, you get the other 2/5ths. Are you going to refuse it too?"  
  
"Well," Vash said with a smile. "I'd like to give my share to the clinic down the street. The Doc did a great job stitching up my friend here."  
  
"That's easy enough," the sheriff smiled suddenly. "I know they'll appreciate it- the doc always helps everyone out." Vash looked at Millie, his eyes drifting over her to Wolfwood.  
  
"Take your share," he said quietly. "If you like, I'm sure you can find a good cause to donate it to, right?" Millie's eyes widened a bit.  
  
"You're right, Mr. Vash. I wasn't thinking. I will take it," she said turning to the sheriff.  
  
"That's what I wanted to hear," he said. "If you'll come down to the station with me?"  
  
"Of course. Will you come with me, Mr. Priest?"  
  
"Sure, big girl, no problem." Wolfwood grinned. "As long as Vash can handle the small girl by himself?" His tone was teasing and Meryl stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"We'll be fine. Thank you Sheriff." Vash replied.  
  
"No, thank you. People in this town are going to be safer now." The Sheriff left, Wolfwood and Millie in tow. Vash took Meryl upstairs. The room had two beds, chairs and desks. Meryl's cloak had been tossed over one of the desks. Vash put Meryl down carefully on a chair. "Just let me put your suitcase next to the bathroom for you, so you can go change. I think that blouse is ruined."  
  
"I think you're right," Meryl sighed. "Oh well, just a company expense- I can't wait til they get that one! That will earn me a telegram from Karen!"  
  
"What do they expect, sending you out to follow a dangerous criminal like me?" Meryl chuckled as she shakily rose to her feet.  
  
"You aren't dangerous, Mr. Vash. It's everything and everyone around you that is! Besides, I knew how dangerous this job was when I accepted it- both times."  
  
"But you still accepted it- why?" His tone had turned serious. Meryl turned to look at him and smiled faintly.  
  
"Karen would tell you that I enjoy this- risking my life for the job- the excitement- the adventure..." Vash snorted and Meryl grinned. "And maybe that is why I accepted it the first time."  
  
"And the second?"  
  
"Because I'm your friend," Meryl said matter of factly. "And I want to help you anyway I can." She closed the door of the bathroom behind her. Vash looked after her for a moment. Then he leaned back in a chair and put his feet up on a desk. He hoped nothing else happened today- but around him anything was possible. They were still trying to track Knives down with no success- but at least there were no gung-ho guns left... well, Wolfwood... but he didn't know that Vash knew what he was, and Vash wasn't going to mention it. No matter what, Wolfwood was his friend- just like the insurance girls. When had they all become his friends instead of people sent to keep an eye on him?  
  
His eyes drifted to the closed bathroom door. She had accepted the job the second time simply because she wanted to help him? He knew that underneath her 'insurance girl' exterior that Meryl was a warm and kind- hearted person. But to know that following him was dangerous and yet still return? Maybe... he cut that thought off. No way. She knew what he really was, and friend or not, she would never accept that from him. He couldn't ask it of her even if she did. People he got close to died. She and Millie and Wolfwood were already in danger- what he was thinking of would make her an even bigger target. Not that he wasn't tempted... if only it was all over...  
  
"Mr. Vash?" Her voice broke through his pleasant dream and he turned to look at her. She was in her nightshirt, the length of her bare legs making another fantasy pop up in his brain. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine," he mumbled and turned his back on her, focusing on clean thoughts. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"It hurts like hell," she replied matter of factly as she climbed into bed.  
  
"The doc gave me some pain meds, but you have to take them with food." Vash turned around when he heard the rustle of the blankets. "I'll go get some if you like. Wolfwood and the big girl should be back soon."  
  
"Okay," Meryl agreed, leaning back against the headboard, pushing her pillows around. Vash got up and helped her. Millie opened the door a minute later, accompanied by Wolfwood who was carrying bags.  
  
"We picked up some dinner, Ma'am, Mr. Vash. I hope you're hungry!" 


	2. Traveling

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. It will never be mine. I've accepted that. So quit rubbing it in!  
  
The next morning Vash was sitting in the hotel's small cafe with a coffee and the newspaper, scanning for any clues on Knives's whereabouts. Wolfwood came down and joined him when he was halfway through the paper. "Hey Tongari- already packed?"  
  
"Huh?" Vash looked up. "Packed for what? We're staying here a few days so the small girl can heal." Wolfwood grinned.  
  
"You need to tell her that. She insists that you had a schedule, wanting to get to Januaria by next week..."  
  
"I did, but now..."  
  
"She made us pack up already. The big girl and I loaded the car and she's finishing up her report for Bernadelli. Now that I think about it, she probably sent Millie to pack for you."  
  
"What?! Is she crazy? All that jolting in the car will just aggravate her injury."  
  
"I told her that already. She insists that she's fine. Plus she looked me right in the eye and pointed out how many times you've tried to give us the slip. She was not going to give you an excuse this time." Wolfwood shrugged. "She's a very strong-willed girl." Vash sighed and stood up, handing the paper to Wolfwood.  
  
"I'll be right back."  
  
"I'll be waiting in the car," was Wolfwood's laughing response. Vash met Millie on the stairs, his travel bag slung over her shoulder.  
  
"Uh, isn't that a bit heavy?"  
  
"Oh, not at all Mr. Vash! I hope you don't mind me packing for you, but senpai said we had a schedule to keep."  
  
"I don't mind, but we're not going. Where is she?"  
  
"She left to mail the report a few minutes ago. She said she'd wait by the car." Millie looked at him, her big blue eyes serious. "Why? Aren't we going?"  
  
"She's supposed to be resting. We might hit some rough road today- it wouldn't be safe."  
  
"I don't think that will stop her, Mr. Vash," Millie replied and walked past him, down the stairs. Vash followed Millie out to the car. Meryl was there all right, sitting in the backseat, her feet resting on the running board, looking up at Wolfwood who was leaning over the open door and explaining the map to her. Wolfwood gave Vash a sly grin as he handed the map to Meryl and went to help Millie stuff Vash's bag in the trunk.  
  
"What are you doing?" Vash said to her without any preamble. "The doc said you were supposed to get some rest."  
  
"I am," Meryl pointed out. "I'm sitting aren't I?"  
  
"That's not what he meant! He meant bed rest!" Meryl bounced a bit on the backseat.  
  
"Well, this is softer than the mattress at this hotel. Are you two ready?" She asked Millie and Wolfwood.  
  
"Yep," Wolfwood climbed behind the wheel.  
  
"Yes," Millie slid in next to him.  
  
"Aren't you guys going to back me up?" Vash demanded.  
  
"We already argued with her for an hour this morning." The priest gave him a sardonic grin. "In my opinion, she's too stubborn to die. She'll be fine." Wolfwood started the engine. "And, might I add- you're the one who told her we had to be somewhere specific in a timeframe." Meryl lifted her feet in the car and slid over. Vash, realizing he was beaten, joined her in the backseat. Mentally he was berating himself. Why oh why had he said anything? She was going to end up in bad shape if she didn't rest!  
  
"Don't fret, Mr. Vash," Meryl patted his arm gently. "I'll be fine."  
  
Wolfwood and Millie kept up a cheerful conversation as they drove. The other two joined in at times, but it was more fun to listen to the priest and the big girl. Millie and Wolfwood obviously enjoyed each other's company and Vash enjoyed listening to them banter with each other. As time passed, Meryl seemed more and more subdued. Vash was concerned. Damnit, she had to be hurting- Wolfwood was taking it easy, trying to keep the jolting to a minimum, but even so... Her head was bent; hair hiding her eyes, but her mouth was still smiling as she listened to Millie and Wolfwood. Should he say something? Or- it was almost eleven- a bit early to stop for lunch but Meryl could take more of her pain medication. Wolfwood cursed suddenly as the car bumped over a large rock. Vash saw Meryl bite her lips, and her hands curved around the seat as she tried to brace herself.  
  
"The road here looks a bit rocky," Wolfwood said over his shoulder. "We're going to bounce a bit- are you okay small girl?"  
  
"I'm fine," she replied easily, even as her hands tightened on the seat, as her face turned paler. The car started rocking as they progressed down the road. Vash bit back a curse. The wound was near her left arm; almost right at the shoulder- it must hurt her even to hold on. Her left elbow tapped against the door as they hit a bump, and she inhaled sharply. He slid closer to her, put her right arm around his waist, and braced her between himself and the door. "Mr. Vash?" She didn't even try to punch him, he thought grimly- she was hurting.  
  
"It's got to hurt, Meryl. Let me hold on for you, okay?" She blinked, surprised at the use of her name. He must be worried.  
  
"Okay," she agreed, leaning into him. He was right; it was better now as he stabilized her.  
  
"Can I say I told you so?" She laughed a bit.  
  
"Just this once, I suppose you can." She relented. "But we had to go. My boss would never have forgiven me if I'd let you out of my sight again."  
  
"I would've waited for you." Meryl shook her head.  
  
"You have to be in Januaria in a few days. It's my job to follow you, not slow you down."  
  
"You are a very stubborn woman," Vash sighed. She raised her eyebrow at him.  
  
"You're just now realizing that?"  
  
An hour later they had pulled over to the side for lunch. The worst part of the road was behind them, but Vash did not like how Meryl flinched whenever she moved.  
  
"How much further to the next town?" He asked Wolfwood. The priest consulted the map.  
  
"Only a few iles, but we planned to stop in the one beyond that- Luna- which is another 30."  
  
"Hell with that." Vash looked at Meryl who was sitting next to Millie, wearily eating her sandwich. She had swallowed her pain medication without objections, but Vash didn't think it was helping her much.  
  
"Fine with me, if you can make her agree to it. The next city is a bit out of our way, but not more than an ile." Wolfwood raised an eyebrow. "At least the roads are getting better again." Vash squared his shoulders and approached the girls.  
  
"No," Meryl said, looking up at him.  
  
"Huh?" Vash was thrown off guard.  
  
"No. We can't stop in the next town. We have to go on to Luna city." Meryl's eyes narrowed. Millie rose to her feet and went to join Wolfwood, deciding it was safer to be out of the line of fire.  
  
"No we don't!"  
  
"We can't stop in that town!"  
  
"Why not?" Vash demanded angrily. "You're hurting! We need to stop!" Meryl rose to her feet and grabbed his sleeve.  
  
"Because," she protested. "You aren't allowed in the next city. It's the one where you fought Monev the Gale? They aren't going to be very happy to see you." Vash paused for a moment. The sheriff had told him to get out and never come back.  
  
"Ah, crap. I didn't know. But..."  
  
"No. I can make it. Really. Better that then to have you thrown in jail again. I'm sure they've rebuilt it by now." She raised her eyebrow. "Besides, we want to catch the sandsteamer in Luna- we don't have time to stop."  
  
"It doesn't matter if we miss it."  
  
"Yes it does. You rarely ever say you have to be somewhere at a certain time. It must be important, even if you won't tell us what it is." Vash sighed.  
  
"I suppose it's useless to ask you to just let me go on my own- I'd come back..."  
  
"It is useless. Are you trying to get me fired?"  
  
"I think your boss would understand..."  
  
"No he wouldn't. He'll tell you that he worked through the great sandworm attack aftermath of 129 with a broken leg." Meryl grinned at his expression.  
  
"All right. You win." Vash frowned at her. "But I'm not happy about this." Meryl put a gentle hand on his arm.  
  
"I know. Thank you, Mr. Vash."  
  
"Stubborn insurance girls...." Vash grumbled as he followed her back to the car.  
  
Wolfwood was whistling tunelessly under his breath as he watched Meryl and Vash argue. "Bet he wins this time," he said to Millie.  
  
"I wouldn't, you'll lose," she replied with a smile. "Trust me on this one. She's going to win."  
  
"No way." Wolfwood turned his head to look at her. Her blue eyes were sparkling merrily and he had to smile back.  
  
"Fine. What would you like to bet?" Millie asked.  
  
"Dinner."  
  
"Okay," Millie grinned at him, then nodded towards Vash and Meryl. "I won." Wolfwood turned. Sure enough, Vash's shoulders were drooped and a look of defeat was on his face.  
  
"How did you know?" Wolfwood looked at Millie.  
  
"Several reasons," Millie said airily.  
  
"I'll bet you had insider information." Millie giggled.  
  
"Of course I did, Mr. Priest." She took pity on him. "The closest town was the one Monev the Gale showed up in. They don't want Mr. Vash back there again."  
  
"Ah, so that's it. You knew we couldn't go there! I've been tricked." He grinned at her. "But, I'm a man who pays his debts. Dinner's on me tonight."  
  
The ride was less bumpy than before, but Vash still kept a close eye on Meryl. He was driving now, Wolfwood insisting that he needed a nap. He and Millie were leaning on each other in the backseat, eyes closed. Occasionally Vash caught a soft murmur of sound, thanks to his acute senses, but for all intents and purposes they appeared to be asleep. Meryl seemed better, the medication taking effect. She held the map, giving him directions and advice, smiling cheerfully whenever he looked at her. Vash couldn't tell if she really was okay or was trying to prove to him that she was fine. He let her talk at him, even though he knew where he was going, letting the sound of her voice wash over him as he mentally fretted. The road was not a good one- no rocks but plenty of potholes he couldn't always avoid. And since he was driving he couldn't brace Meryl. She had been thrown forward several times when he'd been unable to miss one.  
  
"We should be able to see Luna soon," said Meryl, an hour into their drive.  
  
"It won't be soon enough for me," Vash replied. "When does the steamer leave?"  
  
"Tonight. We'll have to get into town and buy tickets right away." They hit another pothole, this one sending Meryl into the dashboard- bad shoulder first. She hissed in pain but shook her head when Vash said he'd pull over. "The sooner we get there the better," she said. Wolfwood leaned over the seat and thwapped Vash on the head.  
  
"What the hell are you doing up there?"  
  
The foursome boarded the sandsteamer. The ticket man had sold them the last second-class cabin. Meryl didn't even grumble about having to share it with the men. She had simply given the money to Wolfwood and let him handle the transaction. Her face was pale, but she smiled cheerfully enough at Millie, who was talking at top speed. Vash watched her carefully behind his glasses.  
  
"Shall we go up on the deck?" Wolfwood asked as they boarded the steamer.  
  
"Oh yes!" Millie replied happily. "Is it okay, Ma'am?" She asked.  
  
"Of course it is Millie. I think I'm going to go lie down, though. Give me your bag and I'll take it down there for you." She smiled ruefully at Vash and Wolfwood. "I don't think I can take yours."  
  
"That's okay, we'll take ours later. Here's a key." Wolfwood handed it to her. "Room 432."  
  
"Got it." Meryl vanished inside the steamer. Millie and Wolfwood headed towards the stairs.  
  
"Coming, Mr. Vash?" Millie stopped and turned around.  
  
"I think I'm going to go to the cabin too," Vash replied. Wolfwood met his eyes and nodded slightly. Then he tossed his bag, and the cross punisher at Vash, who just managed to catch them.  
  
"Okay, needle noggin."  
  
Vash made his way down to the fourth level of the steamer. The hallway was almost empty; most of the passengers were up on deck. The few that passed him looked a bit askance at the cross punisher, but Vash ignored them. The door to their cabin was slightly ajar. Vash opened the door quietly. Meryl had just taken off her cape. She turned slightly and Vash saw that her shirt was stained with blood.  
  
Meryl looked down at her shirt. Well, that explained why she felt so light headed. Her wound must've reopened a little. She sat down at the small table and put the roll of bandages next to her. Slowly she started to unbutton her shirt, wincing in pain. Hands pushed her fingers out of the way.  
  
"Why didn't you say something!" Vash demanded as he deftly unbuttoned her shirt, pulling the material away from her wound. Meryl didn't protest, which made Vash even more concerned.  
  
"I didn't really feel it until we stopped. I didn't want to worry anyone..." Vash snorted. The blood had soaked the bandages. Vash gently pulled them off and placed a new pad against the wound.  
  
"Hold this," he told her. He went and dug around in his bag and then in hers. Meryl kept her hand tightly against the wound, wishing that the pain would stop soon. Vash returned a moment later, more bandage material, a bottle and a handful of white cloth in his hands. He placed the items down on the table. Vash moved quickly, before Meryl realized what he was doing, he had her blouse off, giving her the white cloth to cover herself with. He used the liquid in the clear bottle to clean her wound. It stung a bit, but afterwards it didn't hurt as much as he re-bandaged the wound. The white cloth proved to be Meryl's nightshirt, which she carefully pulled on as he turned his back. She managed to slide off her skirt and tights and he helped her to the lower bunk.  
  
"Thanks," Meryl murmured, her eyes closing. "It does feel better."  
  
"It's all right." He replied as he dumped her stained clothing into the sink and ran cold water over it. He put away the extra bandages and the bottle, then leaned over to check her bandages again. The bandages were still white, but Meryl's skin was slightly flushed. He laid a hand against her forehead. She was warm. Not a good sign. She should've stayed in bed today, not traveled 50 iles over awful roads! Why hadn't he just locked her in her room or tied her to the bed or something?  
  
"I said I could do it, Mr. Vash," Meryl murmured. "Stop blaming yourself." He blinked. How did she do that? How did she always know when he was upset? Was he that obvious?  
  
The door opened and Millie and Wolfwood stepped in.  
  
"How's Ma'am?" Millie asked quietly. Wolfwood's nostrils flared at the scent of blood in the air and he glanced at the sink.  
  
"Her wound opened?"  
  
"Kind of. The stitches pulled a bit, and she started bleeding again. Now she seems a bit too warm..." Millie leaned over the bunk.  
  
"She's running a slight fever. It might be slightly infected. Did she take the medication?"  
  
"It's not time yet." Millie nodded.  
  
"True. But we can give her aspirin for the fever and try to bring her temperature down."  
  
"I have aspirin," Wolfwood volunteered, and went to get it from his bag.  
  
"I put more antiseptic on it," Vash told her.  
  
"Good thinking. That will help too." Millie went to the sink and soaked one of the washcloths in cold water. She handed the washcloth to Vash as she took the aspirin from Wolfwood.  
  
"Ma'am?" she said softly as she sat on the bunk next to Meryl.  
  
"Yes Millie?" Meryl opened her eyes, then closed one of them attempting to focus.  
  
"Take this," Millie helped her take the aspirin and then held out her hand for the washcloth. She placed it gently on Meryl's forehead. "That should help," she said cheerfully to Vash and Wolfwood.  
  
"This brings back memories, doesn't it Millie?" Meryl smiled faintly at her partner.  
  
"Yes, but this time, let's not let the wound get infected. I'm still surprised the doctor didn't amputate that leg."  
  
"He was a quack," said Meryl and closed her eyes again.  
  
"What is she talking about?" Wolfwood asked Millie as he sat on the bunk across from them.  
  
"Oh, our assignment before this one. We had to try and track down the Desert Rats for risk prevention purposes."  
  
"Desert Rats?" Vash asked as he sat down on the other end of the bunk.  
  
"Outlaws," Wolfwood said quietly. "Bank robbers to be precise. They got captured in a shootout about 4 years ago."  
  
"We know." Millie replied. "We were there."  
  
"What?!" Wolfwood looked at Millie in shock.  
  
"We were. Our second field assignment." She shook her head. "We made contact with them right before the Calvary closed in and got caught in the crossfire. I knocked out a few with my stungun..."  
  
"A few?" Meryl repeated. "Half the gang, Millie!"  
  
"They were awful," Millie frowned. "They were going to shoot the hostages! So Ma'am and I stopped them." Wolfwood was looking at the girls with new respect.  
  
"And you got shot in the process?" He asked Meryl.  
  
"Of course." She sighed and slid the blanket down and the hem of her nightshirt up a bit to reveal a large scar that cut down the side of her thigh.  
  
"That's a big wound for a bullet."  
  
"The doctor had to open it up when it got infected," Millie explained. "I think he cut a bit too far, though."  
  
"He was a quack," Meryl repeated, yanking the covers up again.  
  
"At least he didn't try to cut your throat like that Dr. Smiley guy." Millie said sympathetically.  
  
"Smiley? Dr. Sam Smiley? The assassin?" Wolfwood's eyes grew wider.  
  
"Our first field assignment," Millie replied.  
  
"He tried to cut your throat?" Vash asked Meryl.  
  
"Uh huh. That's why I have to wear high collars." Meryl turned her head to the side and tugged her nightshirt collar down. A long jagged scar started at the side of her throat and vanished towards the nape of her neck. She placed the wet cloth back on her head.  
  
"I wondered why they sent two sweet things like you out after Vash the Stampede," Wolfwood commented. "Now I understand. It's just all in a day's work for you."  
  
"It seems like it," Millie beamed at him.  
  
"So, how did the Smiley case wind up?' Vash asked. Millie launched into a long story that amazed and horrified her listeners. Meryl lay quietly as Millie talked, the wet cloth slowly drying on her skin. Vash was the one who noticed and replaced it for her. She gave him a weary smile of thanks. He brushed a finger over her cheek. She did seem cooler.  
  
"I think your fever is dropping," he told her with a faint smile. She just nodded and closed her eyes again.  
  
"Hey, I'm hungry," Wolfwood suddenly commented as Millie finished up her story. "Shall we go eat? We'll bring you something back, small girl- okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Do you want someone to stay with you, Ma'am?" Millie asked as she rose to her feet.  
  
"No, I'll be fine."  
  
"Just like you were fine riding in the car?" Vash said sarcastically. "I don't know if I'll ever believe that word from you again." Meryl lifted the cloth off her eyes and looked at Vash.  
  
"Look, broom boy- we made it to the steamer on time, right?" Wolfwood laughed and grabbed Vash's arm before the outlaw could reply.  
  
"Now now, let's not tempt the small girl into smacking you, all right? We don't want her to rip her stitches open again!"  
  
Vash was the first one back from dinner. He had brought Meryl hers and she sat up to eat it.  
  
"Feeling better?"  
  
"Much. Where's Millie and Mr. Wolfwood?"  
  
"Have you ever heard the expression 'third wheel'?" Vash asked with a grin. Meryl giggled.  
  
"I wondered if you'd noticed it too."  
  
"Even I'm not that dense," Vash raised an eyebrow. "But now that we're talking about it, how do you feel about this?"  
  
"How do I feel?" Meryl repeated blankly.  
  
"Well, Millie is... Millie and Wolfwood has a bit of a dark past and even now..." Vash stopped himself. Maybe she hadn't thought about Wolfwood's motivations.  
  
"Even now we don't know what his true reasons are in following you," Meryl finished, tapping her fork thoughtfully. He smiled faintly. He should've known she'd have realized it too. "But, I just can't think... I can't believe that he's a bad man... I can't." She looked at him pleadingly.  
  
"Neither can I." Vash added quietly.  
  
"As far as Millie's concerned- she loves him and he cares for her. I think she's good for him." Meryl said after a moment.  
  
"I'm glad to hear you say that." Vash's expression lightened. "Are you going to eat your dinner or just stare at it?" They wrangled amiably as Meryl ate.  
  
Meryl curled up in her bunk. Vash had vanished into the bathroom to change. He reappeared a few minutes later and pulled down the bunk that hung over hers. She shot him a puzzled look.  
  
"Better view," he explained, nodding at the door. She smiled in return.  
  
"Worried about bandits, or wanting to spy on Millie and Mr. Wolfwood?" Vash grinned.  
  
"Both actually." Vash said as he climbed into his bunk. "I'll bet Wolfwood and Millie will give us some kind of show. A kiss at least..."  
  
"Pervert," Meryl teased.  
  
"Oh like you won't be looking either," Vash replied lightly. "Good night, small girl."  
  
"Good night, Mr. Vash." 


	3. Sandsteamer

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Thanks to the people who reviewed! I really appreciate it!!!  
  
Wolfwood awoke the next morning to a soft ringing sound. He opened an eye groggily. Meryl looked over at him from her bunk and put her finger to her lips. Her eyes then turned back to Vash the Stampede.  
  
He had moved the table and chairs out of the way and was going about his morning practice. He had tossed the small glass cup that the steamer provided into the air and caught it on the barrel of his gun- balanced on the rim. Vash moved the gun away and back, the glass seeming to stay exactly where it was in the air. Every time the gun barrel touched the cup's rim it made the soft ringing noise that had awakened Wolfwood.  
  
'Damn, he is good,' Wolfwood thought as he watched the gunman. Vash used the gun barrel to throw the cup higher in the air, holstered his gun and then caught the glass neatly in his fingertips. "Do you do this every morning?" Wolfwood asked. Vash turned and shrugged.  
  
"Mostly. Have to keep practicing, you know."  
  
"I do." Wolfwood cocked his head. Milly's soft snores were still issuing from he bunk above his. "What say you and I go find breakfast, Vash?"  
  
"All right." Vash toweled off as Wolfwood headed for the bathroom. He sat down next to Meryl. "How are you feeling this morning?"  
  
"Much better," Meryl smiled at his frown.  
  
"You know I don't trust your opinion." He leaned over her and she pulled her nightshirt to the side so he could check the bandage. "Good- no blood. We can take this off for awhile today- the wound needs air." He gently undid the bandage. The wound was red, but not streaky. No signs of infection yet.  
  
"How's she doing this morning?" Wolfwood came to stand next to Vash.  
  
"Why aren't you asking me?' Meryl demanded- but softly, so as not to wake Millie.  
  
"Because he doesn't trust you either," Vash replied. "She's okay. As long as she rests." Wolfwood grinned as Meryl stuck her tongue out at Vash.  
  
"Whatever you say, Dr. Stampede. Weren't you going to get breakfast? Or- I could go..."  
  
"No," Vash rose to his feet. "We're going."  
  
"So..." Wolfwood said as they walked down the hallway. "What did you and the small girl talk about last night? I noticed you couldn't get away from dinner fast enough to get back to her."  
  
"Maybe I left because I was feeling like a third wheel..." Vash replied, raising his eyebrows at the priest. "You and the big girl seemed to be having a great time." Wolfwood smiled unrepentantly.  
  
"Millie is a wonderful girl and I'm lucky to have met her," he said, tone serious. "But I asked you a question, Vash. And I'm waiting for an answer."  
  
"We just talked about you and Millie actually. And then we went to bed."  
  
"Bed, huh?"  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"Unfortunately I do." Wolfwood sounded vaguely disappointed. Then he laughed. "I really am getting sentimental these days."  
  
"How so?" Wolfwood stopped for a moment, expression growing serious.  
  
"Vash, you love her."  
  
"But.. I don't." Vash replied a moment later.  
  
"Yeah right." Wolfwood shrugged and began walking again. "You're a terrible liar, Tongari."  
  
"What makes you think I do?" Vash asked, keeping pace with him.  
  
"I know you do." Wolfwood replied. "I'm not blind." Vash took a deep breath, his shoulders dropping.  
  
"Damn. I hope no one else noticed."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"My brother- his allies... if they've noticed then I just dropped her in more danger... this isn't good." Vash shook his head. "I am an idiot."  
  
"Give yourself a break Vash. It not like you can help it. I mean- wasn't she already in danger just by being close to you?"  
  
"Of course she was," Vash's tone had grown cooler. He was already closing himself off again, Wolfwood realized. "But if Knives knows how I feel about her he'll do something really bad. Maybe I should try and send her away again. Tell her that I can't have her tagging along anymore."  
  
"Send her away? With no explanation? Just-quit tagging along after me?" Wolfwood's anger broke through. "That's not nice, Vash."  
  
"It might keep her alive," retorted Vash.  
  
"And what if it doesn't?" Wolfwood pointed out. "Could you stand that, Vash? She dies anyway- never knowing that you cared? I mean, she almost did already. Think about it- what if that bullet had been lower and hit her lung? She would've died before we got there. You never would've gotten to say goodbye- much less tell her how you felt." The gunman was silent. Wolfwood took pity on him. "Sorry, needle noggin. Guess my brain's been in a bit of overdrive since we entered that lobby and saw that guy with his gun against Millie's head."  
  
"It's all right," Vash responded quietly. "But I can't put her in more danger." Wolfwood's eyes narrowed.  
  
"More danger? Let's say we do leave the girls behind. What would prevent Knives from taking them then? After all, you won't be around to stop him..." His voice grew colder. "He could do whatever he wanted to her. And afterwards- how much pleasure would he get from tormenting you? Showing you..."  
  
"Stop it!" Vash's gun hand was suddenly pressed under Wolfwood's chin. "Don't make me doubt you, Chapel of the Evergreen." He said coldly. Wolfwood froze.  
  
"Why..why are you.."  
  
"It's your name, isn't it? The one you took for yourself? The man who rings the black funeral bell?" Vash's icy gaze traveled over his face. "My friend is Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Chapel of the Evergreen works for my brother. So, which one are you? Are you warning me or threatening me?" Wolfwood swallowed, mouth dry. He looked Vash in the face.  
  
"I'm warning you, Vash the Stampede, as one friend to another. Asking you, as a friend, to help me protect them. You saved Millie the other day when I froze. I'm trying to help you save Meryl." His dark blue eyes looked haunted, but his voice rang with sincerity. "I swear to you Vash, I would never do anything to harm those girls. Believe me." Vash's gun hand reverted back to normal and rested gently on Wolfwood's shoulder for a moment.  
  
"I do believe you, Wolfwood." Vash's serious expression vanished. "We'd better get breakfast before Millie wakes up!" He headed down the hallway at top speed.  
  
Meryl had watched Wolfwood and Vash leave. Then she had carefully levered herself out of bed and went to fetch her typewriter. She was due to send a report in tomorrow, and the sandsteamer would be stopping in Sweethaven this evening before continuing on for two days without stopping to reach Januaria. She had to get one done before they reached Sweethaven.  
  
She changed out of her nightshirt and into a loose fitting pair of pants and a baggy shirt before she carried the machine back to bed with her. She also made sure her derringers were still in easy reach. God knew they'd had enough trouble on these damn sandsteamers. She propped the typewriter on her knees, knowing Millie could sleep through the noise. She did her best to only move her left hand, not her arm, but she still winced in pain occasionally. Unfortunately, the report had to be a bit longer than usual, due to the 'agent injured in the line of duty' section. She was halfway done when Millie suddenly sat upright.  
  
"Meryl! Ma'am! What are you doing?"  
  
"Report's due tomorrow, Millie. I'm almost done."  
  
"I'm surprised Mr. Vash is letting you type it."  
  
"He and Mr. Wolfwood went out to get breakfast. They'll be back soon. I'm feeling much better this morning." Meryl gave her friend an affectionate smile. "You got in late." Millie smiled back.  
  
"Yes, I'm sorry Ma'am!"  
  
"Nothing to be sorry for Millie. The humanoid typhoon was snoring. You were off-duty. Did you have a good time?"  
  
"Yes," Millie smiled dreamily for a moment then swung down off her bunk. "Is there anything I can do to help you Ma'am?"  
  
"Can you get those other forms done? For the hotel damage?"  
  
"Of course I can!" Meryl's fingers began to move over the keys again. Millie grabbed her paperwork and sat down at the table.  
  
Vash and Wolfwood were headed back down the hallway when the faint sound of typing reached their ears. "That had better be Millie," Vash said to Wolfwood.  
  
"You know it's not." Wolfwood grinned at him.  
  
"I do." Vash opened to door. Millie looked up from her paperwork and smiled.  
  
"Perfect timing! Let me just get this out of the way."  
  
"Don't you girls ever take a break?" Wolfwood asked. Meryl tugged the sheet of paper out of her typewriter.  
  
"Not when we have to mail reports tonight. You all done Millie?"  
  
"Yes Ma'am." Millie was busily putting papers into an envelope. "Report?"  
  
"All finished." Meryl held it out to her. Vash sighed and set the food down on the table.  
  
"We can't leave you alone for a minute," he complained as he began to unpack the bags. "Don't you know the meaning of the word 'rest'?"  
  
"Of course," Meryl smiled sunnily at him. "As well as you do." Wolfwood helped her lift the typewriter from her lap. "Thank you, Mr. Wolfwood."  
  
"You're welcome, small girl." He put the typewriter down on the table, and then gave her a hand up. "Vash, how long have we all known each other now?"  
  
"Sheesh- do you think I keep track?" Vash complained. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of being 'mistered' by my friends." He looked at the girls. "Can't I persuade you insurance girls to call me 'Wolfwood' or 'Nicholas'? I don't care which as long as it's not 'Mr. Wolfwood' or "Mr. Priest'." He gave Millie a smile and she blushed. Meryl looked at Millie, a faint smile on her lips.  
  
"Oh, I think we could be persuaded," Meryl said dryly. "Of course, you would have to also start referring to us by name." Wolfwood handed Millie her tea and turned his smile on Meryl as he handed her a cup of coffee.  
  
"I think I could do that." He looked at Vash. "Couldn't you?'  
  
"I guess so," Vash said doubtfully. "I've kind of gotten used to them being 'insurance girls'. It is descriptive."  
  
"If you like descriptive names, maybe we could call you Tongari, like Nicholas does," Millie giggled. "It definitely describes you and it doesn't give away your identity."  
  
"If he needs an alias, I think Mr. Doughnut would be better," Meryl grinned behind her cup. "Descriptive and respectful..."  
  
"Respectful?!" Vash raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Hmm... I did wonder why he wasn't called Vash the Doughnut Devourer instead of Stampede...." Millie giggled.  
  
"Because," Wolfwood inserted smoothly. "Who'd be afraid of a doughnut devourer?"  
  
"A doughnut of course!" Millie answered. Vash rolled his eyes.  
  
"Millie, please, be merciful. You can call me Vash, or Tongari- I don't care. But Doughnut Devourer? No." He looked at Meryl, a hint of laughter in his eyes. "No Mr. Doughnut either. Got that, Meryl?"  
  
"Of course, Vash." Her eyes twinkled back at him.  
  
After breakfast Millie straightened the room with Wolfwood's help as Vash stored the rest of the groceries. Afterwards, Vash stretched out on his bunk, a book in one hand and a pencil in the other. He read quietly, scribbling notes in the margin. Meryl was lying down again. Her shoulder ached, probably because of the typing, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Wolfwood and Millie sat at the table, playing chess. They spoke in soft voices, too soft for Meryl to make out, but the affection in their glances was obvious. There had to be something better to do than avoid watching them. Vash wouldn't let her near the typewriter, so she quickly thought of another option. She got up slowly and took her case to the bathroom.  
  
"Need help, Meryl?"  
  
"No thanks, Millie. Just getting cleaned up. You keep on beating Wolfwood."  
  
"Who says she's beating me?" Meryl looked at the board and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I can just tell." She went into the bathroom and cleaned herself up, swapping her loose pants for jeans, but keeping the baggy violet shirt. Her uniform blouse was still wet, but all the blood was out of it. She hung it up carefully to dry. She took her medication and examined her shoulder. Healing nicely, she thought. Today with the meds the pain vanished, yesterday it had just dulled the pain. So she was doing better.  
  
Vash was still reading, Wolfwood and Millie still playing chess when she came back out. Meryl looked at the board. It was obviously the beginning of another game. Wolfwood gave her a don't-even-say-it look and she grinned. She rolled her case back to it's resting place. 'Move quickly', she told herself.  
  
"I'm going to get some air," Meryl told them, hand on the doorknob. "I'll be back soon." She was out the door a second later, before they even had time to protest. Their room was close to the stairs, so she reached the deck minutes later. She leaned against the railing, enjoying the breeze and the clean scent of the air. She looked out over the desert, struck again by how beautiful the stark landscape could be. Maybe someday the whole planet would be a beautiful lush green, but in that change, something would be lost.  
  
"Nice escape, Meryl." Vash leaned against the railing next to her.  
  
"Why thank you." Meryl looked up at him and smiled.  
  
"But unfair. You left me there. With them." He made a face and then laughed. "I never thought of chess as a sensual game, but..."  
  
"Third wheel feeling again?"  
  
"Yep. And after that name thing this morning..."  
  
"You caught that too?" Meryl laughed. "Did you notice Millie didn't even hesitate when she said his name this morning?"  
  
"Well, now they won't have to worry about messing up in front of us." Vash grinned at her.  
  
"I think that was the idea." Meryl looked back out at the desert. "It's really beautiful, isn't it?"  
  
"Huh?" Vash blinked.  
  
"The desert- this planet..." Meryl nodded at the horizon where a series of rocky mountains faded into golden sands.  
  
"But, it's not green..."  
  
"It doesn't have to be." Meryl's eyes looked dreamy. "We've all been dreaming about creating a green Eden on this planet- a new garden." She didn't notice Vash start at her words. "What if this is an Eden? A desert Eden?"  
  
"A desert Eden?" Vash repeated.  
  
"The bible talks about Eden as a garden, where Adam and Eve lived without the knowledge of good and evil. After they gained that knowledge, they were sent out of the garden and into a desert-like area. We left Earth- a garden we had turned into a wasteland and came here- a wasteland we want to turn into a garden. Should we change the nature of this planet just to suit us?"  
  
"I.. I don't know.." Meryl shook her head and turned a smile up at him.  
  
"I'm sorry it must be the medication making me drone on like this."  
  
"It's all right." Vash looked out at the sands. "It is beautiful, in it's way." He stiffened.  
  
"What?" Meryl looked in the same direction. "Oh hell. Not again!" She turned from the railing. Vash's hand caught her.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"To get my guns!"  
  
"Meryl! You're injured, remember? Send Wolfwood and that cross of his up here to me. I'll let the crew know. Stay down there with Millie where it's safe, okay?" He saw her mouth tighten and he shook her a bit. "Promise me!"  
  
"I promise!" He let her go and she headed for the elevator. Vash rushed off to find the crew. 


	4. Bandits

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it!! Warnings: None really. This is chapter is pretty much just Vash and Wolfwood doing what they do best. (You know- 'laying some of his gospel' on the bandits...)  
  
"Hell, Tongari, they're gaining." Wolfwood had joined Vash on the back observation deck. Several well armed crew members stood with them. The sand steamer had increased it's speed, trying to outrun the bandits.  
  
"I can see that." Vash had put on his yellow sunglasses, but he grinned as his eyes slid over Wolfwood.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"I didn't know you wore lip gloss that's all." Vash tapped his own cheek. "And you missed your lips when you applied it." Wolfwood swore and mopped at his cheek with his sleeve.  
  
"Better?" He asked with a challenging glare.  
  
"Yeah," Vash said with a grin, neglecting to tell Wolfwood that all he'd done was smear it all over his cheek, "Much better."  
  
"Excuse me, but the boys over there are telling me that one of you is that legendary gunfighter, Vash the Stampede. Any truth to that?" asked a security guard. His badge proclaimed him the chief of the security team.  
  
"Who wants to know?" asked Wolfwood setting his cross punisher in front of him.  
  
"W-w-well Mr. Stampede," The security chief said thrusting his hands into his pockets, "w-w-we were just wondering if you could help us out with this band of bandits. It is rumored that you saved a sand steamer before, and we were kind of hoping the rumor was true."  
  
Wolfwood stroked his chin in mock thoughtfulness, "The last steamer paid me $$500,000 for my trouble, how much are you offering?"  
  
Vash's chin dropped to the floor in astonishment at the priest's outlandish request.  
  
The security chief blanched and drew back a step or two, "I don't know if we got that much on board Mr. Stampede, But if you help us out, I'll see what I can do to raise it when we reach the next town . . . If we reach the next town."  
  
"It's a deal," Wolfwood said with a grin, "You just got yourself an ace gunman. Now if you gentlemen will take up positions along the sides of the train, my associate and I will take care of defending the back of the train."  
  
"Y-y-y-yes Sir, Th-th-thank you sir," stammered the security chief. Then he hurriedly ushered the men out of sight inside the steamer.  
  
"What kind of priest are you?" Vash accused, waving his finger at Wolfwood. "Since when did we start taking large sums of money from innocent people for helping out?"  
  
"Innocent?" snorted Wolfwood, "do you remember that family that the steamer split up because they only had enough money for the wife and child to ride, forcing the husband to stay behind to try and earn enough to catch the next steamer?"  
  
"I remember you gave the man your fare and then bummed the money off me to ride with us," Vash retorted sarcastically.  
  
"I'm a man of God, and it's sacrilegious not to give to those in need- - and let's face it, right now I'm in need."  
  
"And I suppose it's ok to lie?" Vash needled.  
  
"I didn't lie, "Wolfwood said with mock indignation, "I am an ace gunman!"  
  
"That may be true, but you certainly are not Vash the Stampede."  
  
"Ah, but I never said I was, did I?" Wolfwood grinned slipping on his sunglasses.  
  
"Well it certainly sounded like you were bartering the services of Vash the Stampede for a mere 50,000$$ . . ." Vash accused.  
  
"It was 500,000$$," retorted Wolfwood, "and besides, you wouldn't make me fight of these bandits all alone would you?"  
  
"Well it would serve you right if . . . . "  
  
Behind the arguing duo a leather padded grappling hook latched itself to the railing, and it was quickly joined by several friends. The ropes went taut with the weight of the men scaling the still moving heights. Silently the men made their way to the deck and began to slip over the rail, behind the backs of the two oblivious protectors.  
  
"You ungrateful needle noggin, I am just trying to earn a few dollars of those who can easily afford my services, so that I can pay you back! If you don't want me to . . ."  
  
Both men froze at the sound of hammers being pulled back. Slowly their heads turned and they duo stood staring down the barrels of ten guns, with more making their way up behind them.  
  
"WWHHAAA!!!!" Yelled Vash looking like he was about to bolt for the hills.  
  
"Oh great," Wolfwood said swiveling his cross punisher so it was in between himself and the rapidly multiplying bandits, "we were just talking about you. Thank you for coming up, you saved me a lot of time."  
  
Vash dove behind Wolfwood, "Please Mr. Stampede, keep me safe from these bad men."  
  
"What the heck are you talking about Tongari?" Wolfwood snapped irritatedly.  
  
"Oh please Mr. Vash the Stampede, I don't do well with guns pointed at me," Vash said cringing behind Wolfwood in mock fear. "It's scary!"  
  
"Vash The Stampede?" said one of the bandits stepping forward, "Well, this steamer's value just increased by about 60 Billion $$'s. Take a good look boys- this here is the man who stopped the Bad Lads from claiming their prize, but then I always said that Neon was too flashy for his own good. Well Mr. Vash The Stampede, you now face the Bad Seeds, and I am their leader Engineer Steve."  
  
Wolfwood felt Vash tense up behind him at the mention of the gang leaders name. Vash carefully peered around the Wolfwood's shoulder and looked at the man's face. Yes the resemblance was uncanny, but he died 130 years ago when the ship blew up during the great fall. No- before then- Roland had mentioned something about making sure that Steve 'never woke up'... Vash narrowed his gaze and caught sight of a familiar medallion hanging around the leaders neck. Could it be?  
  
"Well Engineer Steve," Wolfwood grinned flipping the snap-release on his cross punisher, "I'm afraid you're going to have to leave this train and not to come back until you have paid your fare like the rest of us."  
  
The cross popped open with a flourish of white cloth and straps and the intruders found themselves looking down the barrels of twin 44 caliber pistols and a man who was grinning like a wolf. The leader of the Bad Seeds chuckled.  
  
"Your reputation has made you arrogant Mr. Stampede. Do you think you can defeat all of us with those two small guns?"  
  
"Mr. Vash?" said the cowering Broomhead that crouched behind him, tugging on his pant leg.  
  
"Not now," hissed Wolfwood under his breath "I've got more then enough bullets for you and your small band of sneak thieves," Wolfwood retorted.  
  
"Mr. Vash," came the quiet plea once more accompanied by another tug. Wolfwood ignored it, concentrating on the guns that were aimed at him from the front.  
  
"Maybe enough for this small band,"Steve said with a wave to the twenty men who stood behind him. "But what about the rest of my crew?"  
  
"Mr. Stampede," came an even more urgent plea and another tug. Wolfwood kicked Vash to make him let go of his pant leg. Vash stuck his kicked fingers in his mouth and tried his best to look pathetic.  
  
"The crew that's driving the cars down below won't be much use to you in a gun fight."  
  
"You are absolutely right, Mr. 60 billion $$ bounty head, that's why I sent some of my boys on ahead to make certain I knew where to find you and that I had plenty of backup to make certain you didn't get away."  
  
"You did what?" Asked Wolfwood incredulously.  
  
"H-h-he offered me and my boys a 30% cut of your bounty as long as we helped trap you back here on the back balcony," the security chief stammered.  
  
Wolfwood turned to see thirty armed men standing with guns drawn aimed at his back. He gritted his teeth and kicked the man at his feet once again.  
  
"Why didn't you mention the fact that I had drawn a crowd Tongari? " Wolfwood snarled, then under his breath, "now would be a good time for a little backup here."  
  
"On your signal," sniffed Vash, but the gleam in his eye told Wolfwood that Vash was ready to be serious.  
  
Wolfwood turned back to Steve and the Bad Seeds. "I guess you have all the cards, and I've been dealt a losing hand."  
  
Steve's eyes narrowed, the outlaw was still far to calm, almost as if he knew something that no one else did. What was it? Surely he didn't think that that spineless man crying at his feet was going to be any help. And besides what could two men do against fifty armed men? Still, he had been warned the Stampede could be a tricky catch. Regardless, it was time to put an end to the running. Time to cash in the reward, and finally get revenge for what happened on board the ship so many years ago.  
  
"Yes Vash the Stampede, you have been dealt the losing hand, a dead man's hand."  
  
Steve gave the signal and the deck lit up with gunfire. It looked like a fireworks show with the bright muzzle flashes, the thick cloud of gun smoke, and the constant tinkle of spent copper casings raining down on the deck. The barrage of bullets stopped after three minutes and it took an agonizing thirty seconds for enough of the smoke to clear to see what remained of the legendary gunman and his cowering companion. There was no decking left where the two had stood, just a gaping circular hole, and . . . no . . . bodies? How could all that random gunfire make a perfect circular hole? The guns would've had to have fired directly into the floor...  
  
"Damn it!" swore Steve, "Get some men down that hole immediately. He's getting away!"  
  
The men milled about uncertainly. Ten of them quickly scurried to do Steve's bidding and dropped down the hole. How could anyone have survived that many bullets? There was just no way that any human could survive that. They called Vash the Stampede a humanoid typhoon, could he really be a force of nature and not human at all? The answer came to them all in a flash, as an explosion roared behind them. Steve ran to the railing only to see his largest troop mover falling behind in flames.  
  
"Dammit," Steve yelled, turning on the security chief, "You promised that the heavy artillery was under your command, and my cars would be safe from shelling!"  
  
"T-t-they are Steve, that wasn't one of my guns!" protested the security chief feebly.  
  
"If it wasn't one of your guns, whose gun was it?" Steve growled menacingly.  
  
"Mine," Wolfwood said with a cigarette dangling out of a corner of his mouth. He was perched on the roof top that was some eight feet behind and nine feet above where he was when the barrage started He grinned and took a long drag on his cigarette.  
  
Without another word he flipped the cross punisher over and popped open the machine gun and aimed it at group standing on the deck. The gang scattered as he opened up a barrage of shells driving them away from the railing and towards the hole in the center of the deck. In ones and twos the gang members dove through the hole in the deck until all fifty sought refuge from his seemingly endless barrage of bullets. Wolfwood smiled, "They're all yours big guy, and I didn't hurt a hair on any of their heads. It's your turn now Tongari, I still have a convoy to take out."  
  
With a sigh he flipped the cross punisher back over and looked through the rocket sights to see which car he would disable next.  
  
Wolfwood was a good as his word, Vash thought with a smile. He had driven the Bad Seed Gang down to him relatively intact without killing a single one of them. Vash's hand flew faster then a human eye could follow and another bad Seed man crumbled without a sound. 25 down, 25 to go.  
  
Two gang members were sitting back-to-back trying to keep as quiet as possible. Their eyes scanned the darkness for any sign of movement, but all they could hear was the nervous shuffling of feet throughout the cargo compartment they had fallen into.  
  
"Hey guys," came a rough whisper, "you seen Steve around down here?  
  
"Go away man, Steve is over by the hole somewhere, but I would stay away if I were you."  
  
"Why?" Asked the whisperer.  
  
"Because, man, where do you think Vash the Stampede is going to be heading? That man is not human. I don't want to die!"  
  
Beside the two men, a pair of eyes lit up, "You're right, I'm not human," came the same whisper from before. A pair of hands grabbed their heads and crashed them together, knocking them unconscious. "And by the way, thanks for the tip on where to find Steve."  
  
Steve sat in the darkness and cursed silently to him self. So far he had only managed to locate five of his men, and he new that they would not be enough to stop that devil. From up above he heard periodic rocket fire launching down at his convoy. If the shooter were accurate, there would be very few cars left by now. His fast way home had been taken from him. Curse that devil, Knives was right, he might just prove to be more then he and his gang could handle, but he would get revenge for his father. Suddenly without warning, the lights in the cargo hold came on. Steve blinked at the sudden brightness and quickly scanned the area around him for other members of his gang. He didn't have to look far, there were bodies strewn all over the storeroom. Alive or dead he couldn't tell, but just then he saw a movement to his left.  
  
A man dressed in red walked out of the shadows, a man who looked very familiar.  
  
"Knives?" Steve asked tentatively, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"What do you think I'm doing here Steve?" Came the monotone reply.  
  
"You were right, Vash was too much for us. It makes me sick to think that Vash might get away with how he had arranged my fathers execution. How in trying to cover up his mess doomed all of us descendants of the S.E.E.D. ships to live on this hellhole. I know if it wasn't for your intervention, there would have been no human survivors on this planet, but how can we, mere humans, hope to stop such a monster?"  
  
Steve stopped as he noticed the other man had tears running down his cheeks. "Knives? Are you OK?"  
  
"Is that the lie that my brother fed you to get you to come after me? He accused me of all his crimes?!"  
  
Steve froze, "You aren't Knives! You are his brother, Vash The Stampede."  
  
In a blur of motion Steve drew his gun and opened fire, and his five companions did likewise. For Vash, it was like time had slowed down for him again. Instinct kicked in and his honed reflexes did what the years of life on the run had taught them to do. Dodge the bullets, One . . . two . . . three . . . four, ooh, that last one grazed his coat. Five . . ten . . . Time for them to reload. He drew his 45 long colt and squeezed the trigger five times. The men around Steve fell with empty guns in their hands. Steve stood looking dumbfounded as Vash aimed the gun at him.  
  
"I never killed your father, I've only ever killed one man, and that was because that man made me chose between his life and the lives of innocent people. You can choose to believe me or not, but I have no wish to hurt any more people today. If you drop your gun now I'll just tie you up with the others, or you can resist and end up like your five friends. The choice is yours."  
  
Steve growled and dropped his gun, "A wise decision," Vash said with a hollow smile, "Very wise."  
  
It took Wolfwood and Vash the better part of a half hour to tie up the entire Bad Seeds gang, and during that time he learned all he could from Steve. Vash learned that Steve had been released from a capsule twenty-five years ago where he had been frozen at the age of 2. He was indeed the son of the Engineer that had tormented Knives and himself back on the ship, and he had gotten the medallion from Knives when he told Steve about his past two years ago. Steve had gotten a tip that Vash was headed to Januaria City, and this was one of the only steamers that he could have taken. It was his big chance for revenge. Knives really did a number on him. He must have loved knowing that the son of his first victim trusted Knives in a way his father never did. The whole thing made Vash sad.  
  
"Well Tongari, are we getting off the steamer or staying on til we reach Januaria?"  
  
"If Meryl can handle it I think we'll just get a car in the next town. Thanks to that money you blackmailed off the crooked security chief, we should be able to get something fast." Vash sighed. "I'm tired of fighting bandits on steamers."  
  
"Me too," Wolfwood laughed. They opened the door to their room and found themselves looking down the barrel of a stungun. "Whoa Millie! It's us! It's us!"  
  
"Sorry," Millie lowered the stungun. "We heard lots of gunfire..."  
  
"We know," Vash said tiredly. He sat down on the bunk next to Meryl, who was reholstering her derringers.  
  
"How did it go?' she asked him.  
  
"Bandits, ambushes by the steamer security team, a leader controlled by Knives gunning specifically for me... same old same old." Meryl touched his arm gently.  
  
"Are we getting off the steamer?"  
  
"Yes, if you can handle it..."  
  
"Of course I can." Meryl looked at Millie who nodded back at her. The big girl pushed Wolfwood down onto a bunk with one hand.  
  
"You two rest. We'll pack up, okay?" 


	5. Late Night Talk

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Thanks for the kind reviews! This chapter is action/sap so just go with it!!  
  
"What do you mean, gone?" Vash looked at the sheriff.  
  
"The leader Steve, was it? He's not with the others."  
  
"Ah hell," Vash grimaced. They had turned the bandit gang over to Sweethaven's local law enforcement, who'd been delighted to take them all into custody.  
  
"Somehow he managed to get away, but don't worry, youngin'. We'll catch him." The sheriff patted his arm kindly. "Brilliant idea, pretending to be Vash the Stampede and all."  
  
"Actually, he pretended to be Vash the Stampede," Vash gestured at the preacher. "He looks scarier than I do." Wolfwood frowned as the sheriff laughed.  
  
"And what is THAT supposed to mean, Tongari?!"  
  
Meryl and Millie were reading a piece of paper by the car when the men stepped back outside. Millie looked amused and Meryl looked like she couldn't make up her mind whether to laugh or rage.  
  
"What is it?" Vash asked.  
  
"We got a telegram from the chief," Millie said.  
  
"What does it say? Are you being pulled off the case again?" Wolfwood asked. Meryl shook her head.  
  
"STRYFE AND THOMPSON STOP STAY THE HELL OFF THE SANDSTEAMERS WHEN FOLLOWING VASH THE STAMPEDE STOP STEAMER COMPANY FORBIDS YOU TO RIDE STOP BANDITS ALWAYS ATTACK THE ONES YOU'RE ON STOP TOO MUCH DAMAGE EXCLAMATION POINT CHIEF END." Meryl read for them. Wolfwood burst into laughter.  
  
"I guess it's good that Vash is the one who wanted to get off, hm?"  
  
"Uh huh," Meryl folded the telegram and shoved it in the case. "We got the supplies, we can leave anytime."  
  
"Now looks good," Vash looked at the sky. "We can get pretty far before the sun goes down."  
  
Vash drove, thankful that the roads here were better. Meryl showed no sign of pain. She sat next to him, leaning on the car door, letting the wind blow her hair. Wolfwood was sleeping on Millie's shoulder and she didn't seem to mind in the slightest. They drove in a comfortable silence until Millie leaned forward a bit and tapped Vash on the shoulder.  
  
"Someone is following us," she said quietly. Vash turned and looked quickly. Two cars, piled with men carrying guns were following them, about a quarter mile behind. And gaining...  
  
"Shit. Looks like some bounty hunters. Guess someone mentioned Vash the Stampede. Wake Wolfwood up for me." After much shaking, Wolfwood awoke and agreed with Vash's assessment.  
  
"What's the plan Tongari?" Wolfwood looked over the back seat.  
  
"I'm going to try and outrun them." Vash had already increased his speed, but the cars were still gaining. A crack of gunfire rang out.  
  
"Ouch!" Wolfwood raised a hand to his cheek and hunched down behind the seat, pulling Millie with him. "Just missed me." Millie's fingers touched his cheek for an instant, then she had her stungun propped up on the back seat. Three bolts hit one of the cars, knocking it over, spilling the men onto the ground. She ducked back down behind the seat.  
  
"Does it hurt very much?' she asked the preacher, touching his cheek again.  
  
"If I say yes, are you going to take out the other car too?"  
  
"I was going to anyway." Millie flipped her stungun back up. This time the other car let loose a hail of bullets. Vash pushed Meryl down with one hand as he sank farther down in the seat. Millie made a sharp exclamation of pain and pulled herself down in the seat, one hand clasped over her arm. Blood leaked through her fingers and Wolfwood swore. A second later the cross punisher's machine gun was aimed over the back. A stream of bullets hit the front tires and the radiator of the remaining car, unleashing a cloud of steam. The car ground to a halt.  
  
"Get us away from here, Vash!" Wolfwood shouted over his shoulder. Vash nodded and accelerated. Wolfwood helped Millie take off her coat.  
  
"It just nicked me, I'm okay," she said faintly as Wolfwood examined the wound.  
  
"Yep, just a scratch." Wolfwood took the roll of bandages Meryl held out to him and wrapped Millie's arm. Then she handed him a wet cloth. He gave her a puzzled look. "What's this for?"  
  
"You, silly." Millie reached out with her good arm and took the cloth from him. She wiped at his cheek with it and he felt the sting of the antiseptic.  
  
They camped that night behind a large cluster of boulders. They mutually decided that a fire might be too obvious, so dinner was a cold one, eaten around a small lantern. They had rewashed and bandaged Millie's injury just in case, as well as Meryl's. Vash had watched the other three silently as they teased each other about the severity of their injuries.  
  
"I'm gonna take a walk," Vash got up abruptly and left. The remaining three looked at each other.  
  
"He's feeling guilty again," Wolfwood said to the girls. "One of us should..."  
  
"I'll go," Meryl stood up. "You two rest... or whatever." She grinned at them and followed Vash into the shadows.  
  
He was sitting on one of the rocks, eyes on the stars. Meryl sat beside him without a word. He looked over at her briefly.  
  
"Could you give me some time alone?" he asked quietly.  
  
"No." Meryl answered in the same tone. Vash blinked.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I think you've been alone enough. I'll be quiet, so you can brood in peace, but I won't go." Meryl leaned back on the rock and looked up at the stars. Vash sighed.  
  
"I'm not brooding."  
  
"Sulking," Meryl didn't even blink, "or moping even, whatever you want to call it. You know. Do it." She made a 'get on with it' gesture in his direction.  
  
"I'm thinking!" He protested a bit angrily.  
  
"Whatever..."  
  
"MERYL!"  
  
"Vash," Meryl looked at him finally and raised her eyebrows. "Why do you keep talking to me? I thought you wanted peace and quiet to..uh.. think in. Shush." She raised a finger to her lips and looked back up at the sky. Vash glared at her, frustrated.  
  
"Meryl, why are you doing this?"  
  
"Isn't it part of my job," she said with a cheerful smile, "to keep an eye on you at all times?" Vash was silent for a long moment.  
  
"What if Bernadelli calls you back?" He asked quietly.  
  
"I'll quit." Meryl responded promptly.  
  
"Wha-? Why?"  
  
"I'm your friend. Just like Millie and Wolfwood are. You need us right now." She looked at him earnestly.  
  
"But... everyone who gets close to me dies." Meryl shook her head.  
  
"Vash- everyone dies. That's how it is." She looked down at her lap. "If I have to die, I'd rather do so out here with you. It's my choice. Just like Millie and Wolfwood. We choose to follow you. You aren't responsible for our destinies- we are."  
  
"But... I... Knives...why?" Vash tried.  
  
"Wolfwood follows you because he's your friend and you need his help. Maybe he has another motive- but I can be sure of at least that one. Millie follows you for the same reason- because she's your friend and you need her help. Millie always helps people who need it if she can- after all, her big big sister told her to." Meryl smiled faintly. "Of course, it's her job too, but I think that's a minor reason these days."  
  
"Her job- and yours. That's why you follow me isn't it?" Meryl sighed, and braced herself- dangerous ground here. But didn't he deserve honesty?  
  
"No, it's not just a job to me." She managed.  
  
"It's not?" She heard the faint hint of disbelief in his voice, and it was like a slap. He heard her take a deep breath.  
  
"No, it's not! I love you, damn it! I can't just sit by while Knives hurts you!" Meryl rushed the words out, anger that he would even think that this was only a job for her taking over. "You don't deserve this Vash! You don't deserve all this pain and suffering that Knives has caused you!" Meryl clenched her fist. "I want to hurt him, simply because he hurts you!" Her eyes were snapping with anger; anger that suddenly dimmed. "But I can't. I'm not strong enough to face him." Meryl looked down at her tightly clenched fists. "All I can do is try to help you. To ease your pain. To stick with you in spite of him." He reached out and covered her hands with one of his.  
  
"Meryl..." What could he tell her? Vash tried to find the words for her but she spoke first.  
  
"It's okay Vash. I already know that you don't love me. And I won't ask or expect you to, ever." Her words hurt him. How could she not know how he felt? She turned her violet eyes up at him, pleading. "But please, at least let me- and Wolfwood and Millie- help you. It's our choice. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," he responded automatically, still stunned. She slid one of her hands free and patted the top of his. "I'll give you your time alone now. Don't stay up too late." She disappeared into the darkness, leaving Vash staring after her.  
  
Meryl walked back into the tiny circle of light. Wolfwood and Millie looked up at her. "I did my best," she said to them, tears in her eyes. "I don't know if it was enough, but I tried."  
  
"Oh Meryl," Millie pulled her friend down next to her and rocked her gently. "It's okay. I'm sure you did." 


	6. Driving

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Thanks for all the kind reviews!!!  
  
The next morning, Wolfwood took the first shift. He sped along, Millie beside him as they headed towards Januaria. Meryl was frowning over the map in the backseat. She had her pencil out and was calculating frantically. Vash heard her swear softly.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I don't think will make it to Januaria by the date you specified, unless we start driving all night. It's still three days away, and you wanted to be there in two." She touched her injured shoulder absently. "If Millie and I take shifts driving too, then we could technically just keep moving and get there on time."  
  
"Yay!" Millie looked thrilled. "I love to drive!"  
  
"Good, I'll switch with you around noon then, okay?" Wolfwood grinned at her.  
  
"Let's see, then Millie can switch with Vash at 6ish, he can drive til midnight, then I'll take a turn...." Meryl muttered as she scribbled. "We'll stop for gas here and here... eat in the car... Yep, we'll make in plenty of time then."  
  
"We could go slower, I can be a day late." Vash said quietly.  
  
"It's all right Tongari," Wolfwood adjusted his sunglasses. "It's probably a better idea to keep moving anyhow- just in case." Meryl handed the map to Millie.  
  
"Double-check these for me Millie, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing, Meryl..." Millie scanned the map and the equations, occasionally adding a scribble of her own.  
  
"Are you a math whiz too, sweetheart?' Wolfwood asked her casually.  
  
"Well, my middle big brother always wanted me to help him with his studying so he taught me math as a way of refreshing himself," Millie answered.  
  
"He's an engineer," said Meryl to Wolfwood with a grin. "So, yes, she is a math whiz."  
  
"This looks right to me, Meryl. You'll want to get some extra sleep in today though if you expect to take that late shift. No one else will be awake to talk to."  
  
"I know. I'll nap later." Meryl promised.  
  
Meryl was as good as her word. She stayed up to eat lunch with them, and then during Millie's shift she fell asleep. She woke up when Millie and Vash switched off to eat dinner and move to the front seat, but then she fell asleep again. Millie had laughed and waved a hand when Wolfwood had asked if Meryl had taken something to knock herself out.  
  
"Oh no, Meryl used to work late shifts during school all the time. She's trained herself to sleep whenever she can. She's fine, you'll see." Millie and Wolfwood fell asleep around 10, leaning on each other in the backseat. Vash drove on, carefully. He snuck occasional glances at the girl beside him, sleeping peacefully. It seemed a shame to wake her up. He could just drive til he felt tired and then pull over and rest. But when his watch, carefully propped up on the dashboard, showed 10 minutes to 12, Meryl sat up. She stretched and smiled at him.  
  
"Almost ready to switch?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Sure, if you're okay..."  
  
"I'm wide awake," Meryl reassured him. They stopped and switched places. "You can go to sleep, Vash," she said with a faint smile. "I've got it under control."  
  
"I know, but I'm not very tired yet," he smiled back at her. "What job did you have in college where you had to be up all night?"  
  
"I worked at the local undertakers." She smiled. "The graveyard shift."  
  
"What is there to do after midnight?" Vash looked at her, surprised.  
  
"People die at all hours, Vash, and their families need someone to come and get the body and get it ready for burial. Especially on this planet. We couldn't wait more than a day in this heat, even with a cold storage area. So, I got the bodies ready and answered the calls."  
  
"Wasn't it kind of creepy?"  
  
"No. It was my Uncle Luke's business, and my grandfather's before that. My cousin is running it now. How do you think I got my 'nerves of steel' that landed me this assignment?" She laughed quietly. "It was a worthwhile experience. It's why I took the job at Bernadelli's- seeing so many bad things happen to people, watching their families struggle afterwards... I wanted to help." She glanced at him and smiled, her eyes dark purple in the light of the 5 moons.  
  
"So, your uncle was the town undertaker. What about your father?" Vash leaned back against the seat.  
  
"He was the sheriff."  
  
"Ah," Vash replied, remembering Meryl's anger at the corrupt sheriff they had run across. No wonder. "That's where you learned how to shoot."  
  
"Yep, Daddy, three more of my uncles and two of my aunts were the town's law enforcement." She shook her head. "And please don't comment about them making work for my Uncle Luke- I've heard that joke a million times."  
  
"Never even crossed my mind." Vash grinned. "But if you wanted to help people- why didn't you join them?" A shadow passed over Meryl's face.  
  
"Well, first off, according to my Aunt Ami, I was too short." She said lightly.  
  
"Too short? What about your Dad? Oh- is your mom short too?"  
  
"Nope. My Mom is tall and fair- so was Dad. They adopted me when I was just a baby." She smiled, but he saw the flash of remembered pain.  
  
"So, you're adopted? But still- your height shouldn't have mattered," Vash frowned, realizing that there was more to this story than she was telling him.  
  
"I know. I wasn't going to let that stop me. But then... well, right before I finished school, they all died."  
  
"Wh-at?" Vash sat up straighter.  
  
"My father, my aunts, my uncles... the town got attacked by bandits- they tried to hold them off- but they couldn't." Meryl's eyes were dry, but her voice was full of pain. "They even killed my Uncle when he insisted on burying his brothers and sisters decently."  
  
"Oh Meryl- how did you..?" She knew what he was asking.  
  
"My cousins, their remaining parents, my mother, my brother and I... we couldn't let them get away with it. They had killed our family!" Vash felt cold. "So we trapped them in a building, held them there for days until the Cavalry came in and arrested them all." The brief summary didn't even touch the pain evident in every line of her. How had they managed it? Vash wanted to know, but didn't want to hurt her more. Meryl looked at him and smiled faintly. "It was awful, watching that building, wanting to kill them and knowing that we couldn't."  
  
"Why not?" Vash asked quietly.  
  
"Because they wouldn't have done it." Meryl took a deep breath. "My father was always saying how the laws needed to be followed. If we had killed those bandits, then we wouldn't have been any better than they were."  
  
"But they had taken something precious to you."  
  
"And I wasn't going to tarnish my family's memory by staining my hands with their blood." Meryl replied. "Afterwards my mother wanted me to find a safer job."  
  
"Does she know what you're doing now?"  
  
"Yes, of course." Meryl laughed softly. "She's not too happy about it, but it's better than what my brother and most of my cousins are doing."  
  
"Did they take over the enforcement for the town?"  
  
"A few did, but most of them joined the Cavalry." Meryl smiled. The Cavalry was one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet.  
  
"Don't you worry about them?"  
  
"Of course. But it is their choice. If they die in the line of duty, I'll know that's how they wanted to go." The underlying meaning in her words was crystal clear. They drove in silence for a while.  
  
Meryl glanced over at Vash. He was still awake, his eyes shadowed. She reached out a hand and patted his arm. "Vash, you should get some sleep." He caught her hand in his and squeezed it gently.  
  
"I will. Don't worry. You just focus on driving, okay?"  
  
"Uh... okay." He squeezed her hand again and let it go. Meryl drove on under the light of the five moons, and Vash wrapped himself up in his own thoughts. He finally fell asleep awhile later, his dreams dark and troubled.  
  
Vash awoke some time later. Meryl was still driving, but the sky was light. He squinted at the clock on the dashboard. "It's almost 8, Meryl. You haven't been driving all this time without a break?" He asked, sitting upright.  
  
"Yes, but I didn't mind letting the three of you sleep in. Look," Meryl grinned mischievously at him and tilted her head towards the backseat. Vash looked back. Millie was curled up against Wolfwood's chest, his head resting on hers. "Isn't that cute? I didn't want to wake them."  
  
"Awww, it is." Vash looked at Meryl and winked. "Don't you wish we had a camera?" Meryl laughed.  
  
"He'd kill us." She gently brought the car to a stop, opened the door and got out to stretch. She winced a second later as her shoulder protested.  
  
"Should've woken me sooner." Vash commented as he dug in the trunk for breakfast supplies. "Did you take your pain meds?"  
  
"No... Vash. Get in the car." Meryl was looking beyond him. Over a ridge a short distance away some cars were approaching them. "I think our friends are back." A burst of gunfire echoed down the ridge.  
  
"Ah hell!" Vash slammed the trunk shut and vaulted to the front seat, adroitly sliding Meryl over. "I'll drive!" He threw the car in gear and accelerated. "Hand me one of those will you?"  
  
"One of what... oh." Meryl looked down and noticed that she was holding a box of doughnuts. "How did... never mind." She opened the box, risking a glance behind her as she did so. "Three of them this time." She handed Vash a doughnut. "They're getting close. Should I wake up Wolfwood?"  
  
"He's still sleeping? Nah, we'll handle this. Any ideas?" Meryl gave him an incredulous look.  
  
"I only have my derringers and... wait a sec." She grinned and reached up into her cloak. "Throw this for me?" She handed him a small canister and pulled out one of her derringers.  
  
"Okay." Vash glanced back and tossed the canister towards the bandit- laden cars. Meryl sighted on it and squeezed the trigger. A loud explosion rocked the ground as the bomb detonated, creating a huge crater right in front of the lead car. It flipped over. Vash looked at Meryl in astonishment. She had paled.  
  
"I didn't realize they were that powerful," she muttered. "He must've changed the recipe."  
  
"I'm afraid to ask if you have any more of those?" Vash asked her. Meryl reached back up into her cloak with a feral grin.  
  
"At least ten," she said.  
  
"TEN?!" Vash glared at her. "What if you get shot?"  
  
"They're in a bullet-proof pouch." She pulled out two. "And is this really the time to be arguing about it?"  
  
"Nope." Vash took the two from her. "Shoot them right before they hit the ground, okay? Your last shot was too high."  
  
"Okay, but give me a bit of lag time to switch guns, I can't shoot with this arm..." Meryl agreed and pulled out two more derringers.  
  
"Obviously," Vash used the rearview mirror to calculate the trajectory and tossed the next two in quick succession. Meryl shot both right before they hit the ground. The bombs detonated, throwing up huge clouds of smoke and dirt and sand, effectively blinding the two remaining cars. They collided with an audible crunch. Wolfwood jolted awake.  
  
"What th' hell?" He looked over the trunk. "Throwing a party without me?"  
  
"You were sleeping," Vash responded. "We didn't want to wake you." Wolfwood glanced at his watch.  
  
"It's almost 9. Weren't you supposed to wake me?" He said to Meryl who was reholstering the spent guns.  
  
"You were too cute to disturb, dream boat." Meryl laughed as Wolfwood blushed. Millie was still curled against his chest. "But I am tired. I don't suppose you'd switch me seats?"  
  
"Sure, and isn't it my turn to drive, Tongari?"  
  
"Just picking up your slack," Vash teased. Millie was awakened and in a very quick switch, she and Wolfwood were in the front seat again. Meryl yawned as she looked back. "I hope they've given up, but if it's Steve's gang, I'll bet they'll be back."  
  
"I'm sure." Vash frowned. "But not for awhile. Go to sleep. No-" He looked at her. "Give me the rest of those little bombs of yours."  
  
"Thinking there's going to be trouble?" Meryl handed the pouch over.  
  
"Worried you're going to blow yourself up." Vash shook his head at her. "No pouch is completely bullet proof! What if that idiot had shot you in the back instead of the shoulder? You would've taken that entire hotel with you!" Meryl looked up at him with a guilty smile.  
  
"Considering the lecture you're giving me, should I even tell you I have more?"  
  
"On you?"  
  
"Nope. In my luggage. I told you I hadn't used this batch yet. Sam must've upped the explosion power- they really were more like fireworks before."  
  
"Who's Sam?" Wolfwood asked.  
  
"My brother. He's in the Calvary- an ammunitions expert. He invented them. They only explode with a bullet."  
  
"Clever."  
  
"Why does your brother send you... never mind. He knows what kind of assignments you go out on?" Vash raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Of course. He sent me these when I was assigned to follow you- the special 'Stampede' kind he said- I didn't think he'd really changed it that much."  
  
"Was your brother hoping you'd blow me up?"  
  
"Oh no! Knowing Sam he probably figured any big explosions would get blamed on you." Millie and Wolfwood burst into laughter.  
  
"Hey, Tongari- it's true- trouble does follow you wherever you go."  
  
They reached Januaria on the day Vash had specified.  
  
"There it is, finally!" Millie slowed down as they approached Januaria. "The first of the cities."  
  
"And a hotbed of trouble for us right now," Vash replied. "Can't I persuade the three of you to wait for me outside of town? Steve knows I'm headed this way, which means Knives does too."  
  
"And let you out of our sight? No way Tongari. Do you think I want to spend another 2 years looking for you?"  
  
They checked into a hotel near the middle of the city.  
  
"I'll be back in two hours," Vash told them. "Please, I need to do this alone."  
  
"Two hours," Meryl repeated. "And what if you're not back in two hours?"  
  
"Follow the sound of the explosions." Vash grinned at her, expertly flipping one of her little bombs over his hand.  
  
"HEY! What are you planning? We can't let you wreck another city!"  
  
"Relax Meryl, I'm just teasing. I have no plans to wreck the city- honest."  
  
"That's not comforting, Tongari. You never plan to be a one-person wrecking crew- but somehow..." Wolfwood sat down on the bed and grinned at Vash's twitch.  
  
"I'll be back. I promise. And I'll stay out of trouble, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Meryl smiled. "We'll be here when you get back."  
  
Vash hurried back to the hotel, errand completed on time. The two hours were almost up. Now they could get out of this damn city.  
  
The rooms were empty. No note, no sign of any of them. He tried to tell himself that they had just gone out to eat, but he doubted it. He went downstairs to ask the desk clerk if he'd seen them.  
  
"The preacher with the two pretty gals? Some men came in and asked to see them. They all left together about 20 minutes ago."  
  
"What kind of men?"  
  
"Big...one of em had a medallion around his neck..."  
  
"Which way did they go?"  
  
"They had an old beat up car- went east towards the outskirts..." Vash left at a run. 


	7. Wolfwood

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Thanks for all the kind reviews!!! Warnings: Language. And when I wrote this part I kept getting flashes of Pulp Fiction- you know the guy that says, 'Ezekial 29- The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides...etc"? For some reason, that quote always comes to mind when I write about Wolfwood being a badass!!  
  
Vash followed the lone set of tire tracks out of town. He saw a car parked to one side of a group of rocks. He stopped his car, slid out and approached with silent footsteps. A glance over the top of one of the rocks showed him an interesting scene. Meryl and Millie were seated on the ground, surrounded by 5 men with guns. The girls looked okay, though Meryl had a hand on her bad shoulder. Wolfwood was standing, cross punisher next to him, almost toe to toe with Steve.  
  
"I know who you are now Chapel! The master was unhappy that you pretended to be Vash and tricked me like that."  
  
"I'll bet he was more angry that you were fooled." Wolfwood replied coolly. "Everyone knows Vash is a tall blond man in a red coat. Not to mention the fact he looks like Knives. Moron. You've messed up this whole thing. Might as well give up and let those girls go."  
  
"Knives said I could do whatever I needed to! Vash will come rescue these bitches!" Steve shouted. Wolfwood's eyes glowed menacingly. "You know he will!"  
  
"Really? Well if Vash is such a bastard, damning us all to live here, killing so many people in the Fall, why would he come rescue two girls?" Wolfwood pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "It'd be easier to cut his losses and move on, right?"  
  
"Uh..." Steve faltered for a moment and Wolfwood grinned like a hungry wolf.  
  
"I may work for Knives, but I don't believe all of his little fairy tales. Of course, he never told me that one. I didn't need to be lied to- or is that manipulated?"  
  
"How dare you insult our master!"  
  
"Get real, Steve. We're just bugs to him."  
  
"No! He cares for us!!" This made Wolfwood laugh. It wasn't a pleasant laugh. It was filled with bitterness and anger. He heard Millie's sharp indrawn breath at the sound like a slash across his soul.  
  
"Really? He sent you to kill Vash, right?"  
  
"Yes! It's my duty! And yours!"  
  
"No. He sent me to protect him, by any means necessary. Even if I had to kill off the Gung-ho Guns to do it. He's just playing with us all."  
  
Interesting, Vash thought, watching Wolfwood and Steve argue. Wolfwood was sent by Knives to protect me? What little game was his brother playing now? Meryl was holding her shoulder, her eyes on the two men. She looked up suddenly and met his gaze. She held it for a moment, and then looked back at Steve and Wolfwood.  
  
"You're lying! Knives doesn't want to protect Vash! Vash is a cold- blooded killer!"  
  
"I'm not lying and Vash isn't a cold-blooded killer."  
  
"But all the Gung-ho Guns are dead! Vash killed them all!"  
  
"No, he didn't. Aren't I a Gung-ho Gun?" Wolfwood glanced over at the girls. Millie was pale, face streaked with tears, eyes focused on the ground. He'd lost her now, he knew it. Well, when you don't have anything left... Wolfwood looked back at Steve. "Dominique and Monev were killed by EG Mine. EG was killed by Rai-den. And Rai-den? He was killed by me." Wolfwood smiled mirthlessly. "Rai-den the blade, Lenov the puppet master, Grey the nine-lives, Zazie the beast... they all wanted to kill Vash the Stampede so I killed them."  
  
His blue gaze never wavered, and Steve took a step back. "And now here you are, Engineer Steve. You want to kill Vash and my orders haven't changed."  
  
"You k-killed them?? But why? We all serve him! Th-they were your companions... your..."  
  
"Friends?" His voice was thick with sarcasm and Steve jerked as if he'd been struck. "Right. People like that don't have friends. They were just murderous scum..." Wolfwood's eyes flickered, grew colder. "Like me. Knives wanted them to die. Like he wants you to die. One more life that Vash can't save- can't redeem... we're only Knives's tools to make Vash suffer." Steve sank to his knees.  
  
"Why? I've served him faithfully my whole life... I..." Wolfwood laughed again.  
  
"So did Bluesummers- and now he's dead too."  
  
"Legato is dead? How? Did you kill him too?" Wolfwood stubbed out his cigarette.  
  
"No. He suicided." Steve gasped. "It's what Knives wanted him to do. He wanted Legato to kill himself to make Vash suffer." In a flash, two of Wolfwood's 44s were in his hands, pointed at Steve. "Just like your death at my hands will make Vash suffer." One of the men surrounding the girls took a step closer, but a look from Wolfwood froze him in his tracks. It was the empty merciless gaze of a killer. No pity, no remorse, no hate- only death. Steve swallowed. This man could kill them all without even blinking. He had destroyed the Gung-ho guns. Was what he said about Knives true?  
  
"But... you're a priest!" He protested lamely.  
  
"And you are a sacrifice." Wolfwood's voice was empty of expression now. "A sacrifice to your little god..." He pulled the hammers back.  
  
"What..what if we just leave?" Steve asked in the silence. The blankness on Wolfwood's face was replaced by thoughtfulness.  
  
"I won't stop you. My orders are to protect Vash. If you aren't a threat..." Wolfwood paused.  
  
"I... I need to think about this... I..." Steve's world was tumbling around him. He gestured to his remaining men. "Let's go."  
  
"Boss?" Asked one of the braver ones.  
  
"Now!" They piled themselves into their remaining car and drove off. Wolfwood didn't lower the guns until their car disappeared in the distance. He didn't look at the girls. Millie raised herself to her feet.  
  
"Are you really a...?" She asked Wolfwood quietly, pausing on the word.  
  
"Yes." Wolfwood still wasn't looking at her. "I killed my first man when I was 7. Born and raised to the job, you might say." He tilted his head to the side. "You can come out now, Vash. I know you're there."  
  
"I know." Vash responded, vacating his hiding place. "Legato didn't commit suicide."  
  
"He hurt the girls and told you the only way to save them was to kill him. That's suicide." Vash smiled wearily.  
  
"I guess that's one way to look at it." His smile changed and his voice turned teasing. "If you're a Terrorist-Priest." Wolfwood looked startled. Vash turned to the girls. "Millie, Meryl, you two okay?"  
  
"Just fine," Meryl picked herself off the ground, hand still tight on her shoulder.  
  
"Great, let's all get back to the hotel then. I'm starving- aren't you Wolfwood?"  
  
"Huh?" Wolfwood's jaw dropped and Millie looked flustered.  
  
"But... Mr. Vash- he works for Knives..." she faltered.  
  
"I knew that already." Vash shrugged. "So?"  
  
"You don't care?" Millie asked, the hopeful tone in her voice puzzling to Wolfwood. Meryl was looking at Vash understandingly and Wolfwood realized that both girls must've suspected something all along.  
  
"No." Vash replied easily. "C'mon." His hand landed on Wolfwood's shoulder. "Let's go back, okay?" Vash's hand tightened slightly.  
  
They rode back to the city in silence. Millie had twisted her hands tightly in her lap and was staring at them. Meryl sat next to her, but her eyes were on the horizon. Wolfwood sat beside Vash, who was driving with his yellow shades over his eyes. Wolfwood tried a dozen conversation starters in his head, all of them duds. He had known Vash was on to him- but the girls too? Had they known all along? When they reached the hotel, and gone inside, Vash turned to Millie.  
  
"I think you and Wolfwood need some time to talk." He took Meryl's arm and led her away. Millie opened the door to the girls' room and beckoned him in.  
  
"Rest," Vash pointed to the bed. "Let me check your shoulder."  
  
"It's okay. One of the guys just kind of tapped it..."  
  
"Tapped it?" Vash's eyebrow went up. Meryl sighed and sat down on the bed, tugging her shirt to the side. Vash pulled a chair up in front of her. He touched the area lightly. "It's bruised! What did he tap it with- a rock?"  
  
"His fist," Meryl admitted as she tilted her head to look as well. "But the gunshot wound is healing fine."  
  
"Yay," Vash muttered. "Maybe the next bandit will wing your other side so you can have matching scars."  
  
"Like you?"  
  
"Ha ha." Meryl shifted slightly and glanced towards the door.  
  
"Do you think things are going all right over there?"  
  
"I hope so." Vash leaned back in his chair and looked at her.  
  
"Did you get your errand finished?"  
  
"Uh huh. Now we can get out of this damn city and wander out aimlessly in the desert again." Vash replied.  
  
"It's not aimless, we're looking for... darn it! We should've made Steve tell us where he is!"  
  
"Steve didn't know." Vash replied.  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"I'm sure." She didn't ask how. She frowned instead, her hand rubbing at her wound. Vash stretched out his hand and stopped her. "Don't, you'll just open it up again. Does it hurt?"  
  
"It aches," she answered, her fingers trapped in his.  
  
"We have some more pain meds..." He let her hand go, turning towards the luggage.  
  
"I don't need them, it's not that bad. It's like when I was a kid and I bumped my head or elbow or something... Bearable."  
  
"Did you do that a lot?"  
  
"Oh yes. I always had to keep up with my brother. I got bumped and bruised all the time. Mom or Dad would just give it a kiss and send me on my way."  
  
"A kiss?" Vash looked puzzled.  
  
"Yeah, to make it better. You know..."  
  
"No. That's the first time I've heard of that. It doesn't sound very sanitary." Meryl laughed.  
  
"It's not a sanctioned medical procedure! Parents do it for their kids when they get a small injury- like a bruise. Just a bit of love and attention so the kid feels better- mentally. Didn't Rem? I mean it sounds like something she would've done." Vash smiled.  
  
"She probably would've; but Knives and I never showed our hurts to Rem. They made her feel badly, so we hid the pain."  
  
"When Steve hurt you..." Meryl's eyes darkened and her hand touched her shoulder again, absently.  
  
"Meryl- stop that." Vash pulled her hand away again, then without thinking, bent and touched his lips to the place right above the injury. He felt her shiver and he pulled back a little. "Uh... does it feel better?" A smile touched the edges of her mouth.  
  
"Actually yes," Meryl replied, not adding that his impromptu kiss had blocked out everything but the feel of his mouth on her skin. "No pain left."  
  
"I wish that worked for everything." Vash sighed. He was still close to her and it seemed the easiest thing in the world to lean forward a bit...  
  
She kissed him gently on the mouth, and felt him start in surprise. Then his arms went around her. A few minutes later, she leaned backwards, taking him down onto the bed with her.  
  
"Your injury..." he murmured.  
  
"What injury?"  
  
"Meryl..." He protested, feeling guilty.  
  
"Vash. Shh. Let me make you feel better..." 


	8. Family

Usual disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Just advancing the plot a bit here. You might notice a small tribute to my fave online comic- Sluggy Freelance. Thanks for all the reviews! Hang in there- more fluff is coming.  
  
Millie looked at the clock. "Oh, Nicholas, it's nearly 8. I didn't realize it had gotten so late."  
  
"I'm starving," he replied, letting her stand up. "Are you?"  
  
"Yes. Do you suppose Meryl and Vash waited for us?"  
  
"We'll check and see." He watched as Millie tidied herself up quickly, and then pulled her back for one last kiss. "You're my angel, Millie." She smiled.  
  
"You're mine."  
  
Vash opened the door, looking a bit rumpled, as if he had slept in his clothes. "Dinner? No we didn't." He said in response to Millie's query. "We were...uh..sleeping."  
  
"Took a nap, eh, Tongari?" Wolfwood's eyebrow went up. Why was Vash so damn jumpy?  
  
"Uh... yeah." Vash flushed and Wolfwood's eyebrow arched higher. "We'll meet you in the lobby." He closed the door quickly. Wolfwood looked at Millie, who was trying hard not to giggle.  
  
"What do you suppose they were doing?" Wolfwood asked Millie innocently.  
  
"Why, he said they were sleeping," Millie returned. "We did have an eventful afternoon after all." She giggled.  
  
"You're a horrible liar, Vash." Meryl laughed as she straightened herself up.  
  
"I know." Vash sighed. "We'll never hear the end of it now." Meryl turned and slid her arms around him.  
  
"I don't care. I'm not ashamed, Vash."  
  
"I'm not either," he said gently, hugging her back.  
  
"But you are worried. Why?"  
  
"Because.." He stopped. I'm afraid Knives'll hurt you because of me. I should leave you, but I'm afraid of what he might do if you're out of my sight... he thought darkly. He didn't want to scare her, but...  
  
"Oh Vash." She touched his cheek. "Knives shouldn't be able control you like this."  
  
"How can you read me so well? I thought my mask was in place," he said with a faint smile.  
  
"I know you." Her arms tightened around him for a moment. "They're waiting for us."  
  
The restaurant was busy, so the foursome headed towards the last available table in the corner. Wolfwood had been so intent on teasing Vash about getting some rest that he accidentally bumped into a man walking with a tray of drinks.  
  
"Oh, sorry there friend," his eyes took in the other man's uniform. "Uh, officer, that is."  
  
"You made me spill them," the man replied, coldly. "My squad ain't gonna be too happy about that."  
  
"Squad?" Vash echoed. His eyes darted across the room. There were three tables of them. Cavalry. The kind that used to chase him. The toughest law enforcement around. He stepped backward into Meryl.  
  
"Ouch!" She complained, and then looked around his elbow at what was scaring him so much. "Oh, hello Mac."  
  
"Mer? Is that you?" Meryl stepped around Vash and accepted the man's one-armed hug. "Damn! It's good to see you honey! Sam! Jack! Allie! Look who's here!" A tall redheaded man whooped and dashed across the room, picking Meryl up in a bear hug.  
  
"Meryl!"  
  
"Does she know the whole damn Cavalry?" Wolfwood asked in amazement as the rest of the squad hollered greetings.  
  
"Nope. Just the ones she's related to," Millie replied. "That's her brother and some of her cousins." Sam put Meryl down and looked at Millie.  
  
"Millie! You're here too? Great!" He hugged the big insurance girl and then grinned at the astonished men. "Why don't you all come join us? We're not on duty." He led the way back to his table.  
  
"We're dead," Wolfwood muttered to Vash. "They've got to know who we are."  
  
"Why are you worried?" Vash looked at him, surprised. "I'm the outlaw, remember?"  
  
"Try not to say that too loud, okay?"  
  
Chairs were found, and Vash found himself in a corner, between Meryl and her brother. Wolfwood was on Meryl's other side, Millie next to him. At least he had a buffer, Vash thought.  
  
"These are my cousins," Meryl said to Vash and Wolfwood, "This is Jack," she pointed at the one next to her brother. "That's Allie," a pretty blonde, "Mac, you met, Judie, Riff, Kate, Mike, Zoe, Luke, Rich, and of course, my brother Sam." They each nodded and smiled as Meryl introduced them. There was a definite family resemblance among the group- all were tall, with blue eyes and hair of varying hues of red to reddish blond. Wolfwood looked down at Meryl, with her black hair and grey-violet eyes. Millie caught his look and leaned to whisper in his ear. Wolfwood nodded at her whisper. Adopted. Now it made sense.  
  
"You guys all know Millie of course. This is Nicholas Wolfwood and Vash."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Nicholas, Vash." Allie said with a smile. "Meryl's told us all about you two." Her smile widened. "We meant it when we said we were off duty, fellas, relax."  
  
"Yeah. Besides we have strict orders not to confront the humanoid typhoon at any time," Mac added. He looked at Vash. "You aren't like I pictured. I thought you'd be- I don't know... different... somehow."  
  
"Taller?" Meryl said with a smile and the cousins laughed.  
  
"Everyone's taller than you, sweetheart," Luke said teasingly. "Even Zoe." This started a spate of name-calling as the food was delivered to the table.  
  
"Ignore them," Sam said to Vash with a grin. "They always tease Meryl about her height cause she can outshoot them." He looked Vash in the eye, his voice lowered so only Vash could hear him. "You saved my sister. No one here would ever turn you in." He grinned again, seriousness gone. "So, relax." Plates were passed around and Vash felt the tightness in his throat ease.  
  
Meryl's brother and cousins kept up a lively dinner conversation, teasing and affectionate, they obviously were a tight family group. No wonder the Cavalry left them as a squad- this group would stick together. He looked at Meryl, so small and dark among the fair giants around her and suddenly saw why she always strived so hard. She wanted to be worthy of the family that took her in, not realizing that they loved her no matter what.  
  
"Meryl, have you heard from Mom lately?" Sam asked. Millie and Wolfwood were discussing stun guns with Luke, who apparently was the arms expert.  
  
"I wrote her a week ago, right before..uh... A week ago."  
  
"Before what?" Sam focused on her. Meryl flushed a bit.  
  
"Nothing. I wrote her a week ago. Why? I haven't gotten much from her, but it's hard for mail to catch up to me."  
  
"Did something happen to you, Meryl?" Sam looked at Vash. "Did it?"  
  
"She got shot about six days ago."  
  
"What?!?!" All eyes focused on Meryl. "How? Where?!"  
  
"A gang called the Cowboys," Vash explained when it seemed that Meryl had wilted under her relatives' eyes. "We had just gotten into Bay Town. Wolfwood and I had gone to stable the tomases. The girls had gone into the hotel to check us in."  
  
"The Cowboys came in as we were finishing up," Millie took up the story. "And just started shooting. It was a normal occurrence- according to the sheriff. Meryl grabbed the desk clerk's little girl and jumped over the counter with her. I blasted two of them," she explained with a frown. "But then one of them put his gun right here." She tapped her temple. "Luckily, Vash and Nicholas came in and took care of the rest."  
  
"Correction," Wolfwood rapped on the table. "Vash took care of the rest of them."  
  
"Yeah, cause I walked in a split second before you did, that's all."  
  
"One of them had managed to wing Meryl in the shoulder, so Vash ran her down to the clinic while Nick and I got the law." Millie finished.  
  
"So we owe you two, Mr. Vash," Jack said quietly.  
  
"Oh, no.. it's okay... I mean, she's saved me too, after all." Vash stammered.  
  
"I'm sure," Sam replied. "But we still owe you."  
  
"Weren't we talking about Mom?" Meryl switched topics, to Vash's relief.  
  
"Oh yeah. She's..uh... getting married again." Sam looked slightly uncomfortable.  
  
"Really? To who?" Meryl smiled. "Someone nice, I hope?"  
  
"Uh yeah. Our Dad. Zoe's, Allie's and mine." Jack blurted. He looked at Wolfwood and then Vash. "They aren't really related- just in-laws... Dad was married to their dad's sister..."  
  
"I see," Wolfwood smiled easily. "That's really great."  
  
"That is," Meryl agreed. "When?"  
  
"That's just it. They want to get married right away, so we all got leave to go back home." Zoe leaned across the table and smiled winningly at Vash. "I know my cousin- soon-to-be sister- has to follow you around, Mr. Vash. Could you wander near our hometown for a week or two?"  
  
"We'd love to have all of you- and not just because we know Meryl would never abandon her post," Allie added.  
  
"You can even travel with us- we have a nice armored caravan to travel in- plenty of room." Luke added.  
  
"That would be nice," Millie said thoughtfully. "Especially if those bandits come back."  
  
"I don't want to put more people in danger..." Vash protested.  
  
"They aren't going to come back," Wolfwood frowned. "Not if they're smart."  
  
"With my luck, they won't be." Vash groaned.  
  
"Or someone else will attack us. There's a big stretch of desert between here and home," Meryl said thoughtfully.  
  
"Great. Now I know we'll be attacked," Vash put his head in his hands.  
  
"We're Cavalry, Mr. Vash. We can take care of ourselves. Besides, no one in their right minds would attack Cavalry!" Sam grinned. "You'll be safe with us." ----------  
  
"I'm feeling a bit too safe," Wolfwood complained to Vash.  
  
"Tired of the dull life?" Vash looked up from his book and grinned at his friend. "It's only been two days."  
  
"I guess I've gotten used to the exciting life." Wolfwood leaned back in his chair. "I know you prefer it quiet."  
  
"I do. I wish my life could always be this peaceful." Vash smiled at Meryl who was sitting a few seats up from him, talking quietly with Zoe. She glanced up at him and smiled back. There hadn't been a chance for private conversation- or anything else- since they'd run into her family at the restaurant. It had been awful before having her so close and not daring to touch, but now that he knew how it felt to hold her- now it was torture. To have her so near and not be able to... he stopped that train of thought before he got truly frustrated. Wolfwood was watching him with a slight smile.  
  
"If I had left you at peace, you wouldn't have seen her again." Wolfwood said softly. Vash let his eyes linger on Meryl. There was something different about her...  
  
"I know she would've been safer." Vash looked at Wolfwood. "You all would've been."  
  
"No. Knives needed to be stopped."  
  
"You talk like he is already."  
  
"You injured him badly, Vash. It was just bad luck he managed to escape. Last time it took him years to heal."  
  
"But it was different last time," Vash looked at his arm. "This time I only shot him."  
  
"But this time he doesn't have a Bluesummers."  
  
"He doesn't need one. He's perfectly capable of doing everything Legato did- and worse. He could destroy a city on his own, just like..."  
  
"Just like you did?" Meryl's brother's voice was a soft interruption. The two gunslingers looked up in surprise. Sam smiled and sat down next to Vash. "I've got to tell you that it's hard to believe you're really Vash the Stampede."  
  
"But I am," Vash replied, his eyes darkening. Something was nagging at him.  
  
"Vash!" Meryl sat straight up, her eyes seeking him out.  
  
"We got company!" Jack yelled from the front. "Battle stations now!" 


	9. More bandits

Disclaimer: As always, Trigun is not mine. Thanks for all the reviews!! Feedback is always welcome.  
  
When Meryl's family had said they had a fully armed caravan, they hadn't been kidding. The caravan was armored all the way around, the plating riveted to the frame. Except for the front and the back, the only windows were slits, perfect for putting a rifle or a shotgun through, which is what several of the cousins did. Mac and Riff joined Jack in the front, their machine guns ready. The back windows were larger, floor to ceiling slits, and Wolfwood headed back with his cross punisher. Millie joined him at his window, kneeling down, her stungun ready.  
  
"Damn Meryl, I need you to take a bigger gun too, but the ones I have will knock you over." Her brother frowned.  
  
"I'll brace her." Vash replied. His colt was in his hand. "Give her one." Sam handed Meryl an automatic rifle.  
  
"I'm going to launch some of my surprises. Shoot them right before they hit the ground, okay?"  
  
"No problem." Meryl and Vash took the second back window. He stood behind her so she could lean back against him. Meryl braced the gun against her right shoulder. Her left was much better- the stitches were out- but not enough for bracing the rifle.  
  
"They're gaining! Almost within range!" Jack called from the front.  
  
"I see them. They've got the Black Dog Insignia. I thought these guys got wiped out!" Sam replied, from where he sat in the upper gun turret.  
  
"These ones probably hid under a rock."  
  
"Should be the cockroaches then," Wolfwood commented, flipping his cross punisher around and opening the sights. "Glad I restocked this thing." He grinned at Vash. "Usual mantra to the big guy?"  
  
"The lord helps those who help themselves," Vash replied with a smile.  
  
"Someone want to give them a warning shot?" Jack called.  
  
"They're still out of range!" Zoe replied.  
  
"No, they aren't." Wolfwood sighted on the lead car and pulled the trigger. The loud whoosh of rocket thrusters echoed through the car as the rocket made a beeline for the lead car. A frantic driver tried to swerve to the left to avoid the missile, ramming the truck that was just a few feet behind. Both cars jumped as the rocket threw them onto their roofs.  
  
"Holy shit! Who the hell has missiles?" Sam called down.  
  
"I do." Wolfwood called back.  
  
"Where the hell did you get something like that?" Sam hollered, "We sure as hell weren't packing any missiles, Cavalry says they cost too much."  
  
"The good lord provides me with all I need to walk unmolested through this valley of darkness- even if they are a bit expensive." Wolfwood chuckled turning his sights to a new target.  
  
Sam peeked down below and looked at the unwrapped cross punisher and let loose a whistle. "Well I'll be damned."  
  
"Not today." Wolfwood grunted, firing on the next car. Another missile went winging towards the pursuing caravan. This shot struck the front of the car, knocking it on its side. The front axle was wrenched free and flipped up into the air end over end, and came crashing down through the roof of a trailing vehicle.  
  
"Show off," Vash teased.  
  
"Yeah, let's see you do something useful, Tongari. They're getting closer."  
  
"All righty then." Vash aimed carefully. And fired. Another car rolled to a stop with steam blowing out in a huge cloud and the front wheels shot out.  
  
"I only heard one shot..." Rich looked amazed. Vash popped his cartridges out and reloaded. "You fired six times?"  
  
"Pull it together, people! They're gaining!" Sam snapped. "Meryl, here come the first ones." A stream of small black cartridges sailed through the air. Meryl sighted and squeezed, the kick of the rifle pushing her back into Vash, who stood like a statue, bracing her as his gun danced in his hand. Gunfire erupted up and down the caravan as the bandits started to surround them. Meryl managed to hit most of the cartridges, causing several explosions. Millie's stun gun and the cross punisher were doing serious damage as well.  
  
"They're pulling back! Wait... Ah shit!" Sam cursed. A missile rocketed towards the caravan. Wolfwood cursed too, flipping the cross punisher over. Meryl and Vash sighted on it simultaneously. Two guns went off at the exact same moment. The missile blew up in mid-air. "Nice shot!" Sam grinned. "Now, let's clean up, boys and girls." More little bombs flew through the air, exploding as they were hit. The bandits gave up a few minutes later, dropping back and vanishing into the dust. Meryl put the gun down with a sigh, rubbing her shoulder. She had braced the gun against her right shoulder, not her left, but that just meant they both hurt like hell. Vash's hand closed over hers.  
  
"You need some meds for that," he said, his fingers pushing hers out of the way so he could rub it lightly.  
  
"I'll be okay." She glanced over at Millie, who was looking at them strangely. "Millie- you okay?"  
  
"Uh, yeah. It's nothing," her partner laughed nervously. Wolfwood helped Millie to her feet as Vash and Meryl made their way back to the middle of the caravan.  
  
"What's up Millie?"  
  
"You didn't notice?"  
  
"Notice what?"  
  
"They were firing at the same time... every shot." Millie's eyes had widened. "They weren't even looking at each other, Nick! And... well..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"This sounds crazy, but does Meryl look lighter to you?"  
  
"Lighter? Like weight?"  
  
"No... I can't put my finger on it. Just lighter..." Millie shrugged. "Maybe I am going crazy."  
  
"You? Not ever." He kissed her brow. "I'll take a good look at her, okay?"  
  
"How's your shoulder, sis?"  
  
"It's okay." Meryl had leaned back in one of the seats, her eyes half- closed. "Nice work, Sam."  
  
"It's a living. Your friends are pretty impressive."  
  
"I told you."  
  
"I know, but hearing isn't the same as seeing. Vash was so freaking fast- and the preacher- how the hell does he even lift that thing? It must weigh a ton!"  
  
"Practice," Wolfwood said behind them. He leaned the rewrapped cross punisher against the wall, then he and Millie took the seats across from Meryl. "Lots of practice."  
  
"What does a preacher need with a gun like that?" Sam asked.  
  
"The world is a dangerous place," Wolfwood looked him in the eye. "It's for self-protection."  
  
"You two didn't need us," Zoe commented from her place next to Allie. "You and Vash could've taken out that whole group." Her voice was matter-of- fact. Wolfwood met her eyes calmly. Vash appeared out of the back, Meryl's meds in his hand.  
  
"Having second thoughts?" He asked, his voice a cheerful lilt. Meryl glanced up at him, eyes narrowed.  
  
"Not a bit," Allie answered. "Just wondering how we could get you two to join the Cavalry." She and Zoe smiled at Vash's surprise.  
  
"Yeah, we need some more bad-asses." Zoe added. That caused a burst of laughter. A bit hysterical, but genuine. Mac walked in, carefully balancing a coffee tray. The caravan hit a bump and the coffee tray flew, hitting Vash squarely.  
  
"YEOUCH!"  
  
"Vash!" "Are you okay?" Meryl and Millie sprung up, quickly pulling the hot-coffee drenched shirt off him. They, and Wolfwood of course, had seen his scar collection. They were more concerned about the coffee burns. The rest of the observers focused on the scars.  
  
"Holy shit," Sam cursed softly. Meryl, before Vash could even flinch, grabbed the gunman's arm.  
  
"Let's get you cleaned up. Millie, can you get him another shirt?"  
  
"Of course." Meryl dragged Vash off to the washroom, while Millie went hunting for his bag.  
  
"What the hell happened to him?" Sam asked Wolfwood.  
  
"A lifetime of refusing to kill anyone, putting himself in harm's way, getting the crap beat out of him." Wolfwood lit a cigarette. "You're Cavalry- you know his file says he's a pacifist."  
  
"Yeah, but... you wouldn't think the humanoid typhoon would be like that."  
  
"He's nothing like the Vash the Stampede that headquarters always tries to scare us about," Zoe pointed out. "He- and you, Mr. Wolfwood, took out that entire gang by just stopping their cars. I'll bet they only had minor injuries."  
  
"That's how he is," Wolfwood looked around the caravan. "Don't get me wrong- bad things always seem to happen around him- I've seen towns destroyed by people trying to catch him. But Vash himself? He doesn't like to hurt anyone- even if they're trying to kill him."  
  
Meryl was using a cool wet cloth to wipe the rest of the coffee off of his torso.  
  
"I can do this, really." Vash protested.  
  
"Be still." Meryl frowned at him. I want to make sure it didn't burn you anywhere. Is there anyplace that hurts?"  
  
"Just where the corner of the tray hit me." Vash rubbed his bicep. "But that's just a bruise." Millie cracked open the door.  
  
"Here's his shirt Meryl." Meryl took it before Vash could grab it. She placed it on the counter behind her.  
  
"Thanks Millie, we'll be out in a sec."  
  
"All right!" The door closed.  
  
"Can I have the shirt now?" Vash pleaded.  
  
"I'm not done," Meryl pointed out. She finished drying him off, checking carefully for any signs of a burn.  
  
"Are you finished now?" Vash eyed his shirt.  
  
"Vash, relax. You know I've seen you without your shirt before. What's the problem?" She brushed her fingers over the bruise.  
  
"I know, but...I'm kind of a mess." Meryl shook her head, her fingers tightening a bit on his arm.  
  
"No, you aren't. Not to me." Vash laughed self-consciously.  
  
"Well, that's because you love me. Anyone else would admit that this," he gestured to his scar covered torso, "is pretty ugly." Meryl slid onto his lap, surprising him. Her fingers traced his scars lightly.  
  
"Maybe," she said softly. "But to me, you're beautiful." He brushed his lips over hers.  
  
"Aren't I supposed to say that to you?" And you are, he thought, but I shouldn't have slept with you, shouldn't have let you get this close to me...  
  
"No," Meryl sighed and got up. "Here's your shirt." There was a faint sparkle of tears in her eyes. He grabbed her hand.  
  
"What did I do?" Meryl smiled and shook her head.  
  
"It's nothing. I'm going to join the others." She squeezed his hand reassuringly and left. Vash looked after her. What was wrong? 


	10. Lighter

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Thanks for all the reviews!!! Hmm... Warnings? Sap. Sap. And hm- sap.  
  
Vash was asleep, sprawled out on the seat, Meryl leaning against the wall in the seat next to him, also fast asleep. Zoe, Allie, Jack, Rich and Luke were curled up on various chairs sleeping soundly. Sam and Riff were in the front, Mac was driving, Kate was playing lookout above. Millie was curled up against Wolfwood's shoulder, her breathing soft and even.  
  
Wolfwood was studying Meryl; Millie's comment still floating around in his head. Lighter- how is she lighter? He let his eyes travel over her, comparing the picture of her in his head from when he first met her with the Meryl across from him now. Same figure, same face, same dark hair... no... wait. Wolfwood's eyes narrowed. He focused in on the sweep of Meryl's bangs were they hung across her forehead. Not all black... the tips... the tips were blonde. Just a bit. No... He tilted Millie away from him and leaned across to look closer.  
  
Yes. The tips- just barely gold. Was it a dye? How the hell did you only dye the very tips of your hair? His eyes swept over the rest of her hair. Yep, every strand that he could see was tipped with blonde.  
  
"Wolfwood, what are you doing?" Vash said softly. Wolfwood refrained from jumping out of his skin.  
  
"Damn it Vash! Don't do that!" He whispered fiercely.  
  
"Sorry. Why are you staring at Meryl like that?" There was a hint of a challenge in Vash's voice.  
  
"Whoa, down boy. Look at Meryl's hair."  
  
"Huh?" Vash blinked.  
  
"Just do it!" Vash leaned over and looked down. He stared for a moment.  
  
"I don't.." He blinked and leaned closer. "What the hell?"  
  
"Did you know she was dyeing her hair?"  
  
"That doesn't seem like Meryl..." Vash replied uneasily. He ran a hand through his own blond strands. "Yet- it wasn't always like that? It was all dark before- right?" Wolfwood nodded, then shrugged.  
  
"I'm almost positive it was all black- no blonde. Maybe she was dyeing it black all this time? And it's fading now?"  
  
"Then why isn't the rest of her hair showing the fade?"  
  
"Got me. Millie just made a comment about her being lighter somehow. Weird huh?" Wolfwood leaned back. "Ask her about it in the morning, okay, Vash?'  
  
"Okay."  
  
But in the morning they had reached Meryl's hometown. A crowd was waiting for them as the caravan pulled up the main street.  
  
"That was like running into a mob," Wolfwood said to Vash later on. "A large friendly mob, mind you, but I didn't think we were ever going to get free."  
  
"I know," the gunman yawned. "And then dragged from house to house, shown the town, fed..."  
  
"I liked that part," Millie commented. "But my favorite was when they found out Nicholas was a preacher..." Vash leveled a cool stare at Wolfwood.  
  
"Are you sure you can perform marriage ceremonies?"  
  
"Of course I can." Wolfwood frowned at him. "Granted, I've done more funerals- know that one by heart. Have to look up the marriage service..." He paused. "Hope I have that book still." He looked towards the room he had tossed his bag in.  
  
"It was nice of them to put us up in the hotel." Millie leaned back on the sofa. Wolfwood was still frowning.  
  
"Yeah, well somehow they're related to Meryl..."  
  
"Married to her second cousin," Millie supplied.  
  
"Yeah, and a suite too." Vash commented. Millie looked around the small sitting room that connected the three bedrooms.  
  
"I know Meryl's mom felt bad that she didn't have room for her or Sam anymore."  
  
"I know Vash isn't complaining," Wolfwood teased.  
  
"Don't you think you should find that book, Wolfwood?" Vash suggested lazily, leaning back on the sofa and winking at Millie. "I mean, don't they want to practice tomorrow or something?"  
  
Meryl walked up the stairs of the hotel. Her mom was so happy- that was obvious. She and Uncle Dan were a good match.  
  
"Hey Meryl!" Vash greeted her as she opened the door. His smile was warming, and she went to sit next to him without a second thought.  
  
"Where's Wolfwood?" Meryl asked. Millie smiled.  
  
"Can't you hear him?" The sound of muffled cursing echoed from the middle room where all the men's things had gotten tossed.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"He's looking for his book of services. He knows the funeral service by heart, but not the marriage one." Millie explained.  
  
"You'd better find it, preacher man!" Meryl called out.  
  
"I know, I know...."  
  
"Doesn't it go something like, 'If anyone has a reason why these two shouldn't be wed, why didn't you speak up before now'?" Vash grinned at Millie, who burst into laughter. Meryl smiled, but she had her eyes on the door, waiting. Wolfwood cursed again, then:  
  
"AH HAH! Here it is!" He appeared in the sitting room and tossed the book on the table. "I KNEW I had it."  
  
"Yay!" Millie clapped.  
  
"Thank goodness," Meryl smiled, relieved. "I'm glad you found it."  
  
"Yeah, or you would've been dead." Vash teased.  
  
"This calls for a celebration," Wolfwood smiled wickedly. He walked over to where Millie was perched on the edge of the sofa and swept her up into his arms. "I've been waiting three days for a place with some privacy." He hauled her towards her bedroom. "See you two later." The door shut behind them. Vash and Meryl sat in a shocked silence for a moment, then Meryl began to giggle. Vash joined in, unable to help himself.  
  
"What finesse," he commented, which only made Meryl laugh harder.  
  
"He does have a point though." She said wistfully when she had calmed down. Vash immediately got to his feet and offered her his hand.  
  
"True. Could I possibly..."  
  
"You know you could." Meryl slid her hand into his.  
  
"Even after yesterday?" He asked as he pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Yesterday? Oh, the coffee thing," Meryl shrugged as Vash shut the door. She leaned against him and he bent his head to hers. Several minutes later, after caresses and kisses and the loss of some clothing, she tugged him to the bed.  
  
"It'll be more comfortable here."  
  
"I was asking you a question," he reminded her as they tumbled onto the soft mattress.  
  
"Later..." Her mouth moved downwards. Vash leaned back, thoughts fleeing from his brain. Damn, he'd be lucky to remember his name later, let alone to... to... 


	11. Hair

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Please note: to make things less confusing [ ] will denote thoughts. You'll see why as the story continues....  
  
Later on, as they snuggled under the sheets, Vash looked down at Meryl's hair again. The blonde tips were longer than they were yesterday- nearly a fourth of an inch now. He slid his fingertips through the soft strands.  
  
"Meryl- have you been dyeing your hair?"  
  
"Dyeing my hair?" Meryl repeated, puzzled. "Nooo- why are you asking?" He wrapped a sheet around her and pulled her to the mirror.  
  
"Look- the tips of your hair..."  
  
"Blonde? What the hell?" Meryl leaned close to the glass. "When did this start?"  
  
"We noticed it yesterday on the caravan- it wasn't as obvious..."  
  
"And I didn't have a mirror..." Meryl frowned, studying her reflection intently. "It's not like sun streaking."  
  
"No, it's not." Vash sat down on the chair in front of the mirror, Meryl standing between him and the glass. She was nearly eye-to-eye with her reflection.  
  
"I've heard of color changes- but black to blonde?"  
  
"And from the tip?" Vash tugged at his own blond hair. "The color change should start at the bottom." Meryl turned back around with a shrug. Her face was calm, but he could see the hint of panic in her eyes.  
  
"Well, it's weird, but it's just hair, right? Dead cells and all that." Vash pulled her down on his lap and leaned his head against hers. [Silly child, why aren't you admitting you're scared?] He thought.  
  
"I'm not scared," Meryl protested. Vash froze.  
  
"Meryl- why did you just say that?"  
  
"You said I wasn't admitting it."  
  
"No I didn't." Vash tilted her chin up so she could see his face. [I thought it.] Meryl's eyes widened. [You can hear me this way?]  
  
"I... yes." She nodded. Then she blinked. "You don't look surprised."  
  
"I am, but..." He remembered all the times when Meryl seemed to be responding to what he was thinking- not what he said. How she always knew when he was hurt or upset... [I think you've done it before. How do you think you manage to read me so easily? You've been hearing- or at least sensing- my thoughts. ]  
  
"No! I couldn't..."  
  
"Yes. I'm betting you've always been a bit psychic."  
  
"No I haven't!"  
  
"Think about the quick draw tournament- you described EXACTLY what happened. Men with guns shooting for the bounty! It's getting stronger is all." He paused. "Maybe that's because of me."  
  
"You?" Meryl looked thoughtful for a moment. His expression was a guilty one, and her heart ached. So she shrugged and smiled. "Well, being psychic isn't a bad thing, and that would explain the blonde hair- maybe it's catching," she teased and rumpled his hair. Her hand stilled. "Vash..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Your hair- look." Meryl got up so he could lean closer to the mirror. The base of his hair- about a fourth of an inch- was black. "Maybe it's me," she said in a small voice. [Maybe this is what Knives was so worried about... maybe I've really hurt him...] He could hear her panicked thoughts. He turned and slid his arms around her.  
  
[Stop it.] He took a deep breath. [You haven't hurt me, for goodness sake. Remember: This might be my fault.]  
  
[If I can't blame me, then you can't blame yourself.] Meryl leaned against him.  
  
[You might want to blame me,] Vash took a deep breath.  
  
[No, I don't. Even if it is because of you, I don't care.] Vash tugged her back down into his lap. He kissed her, reassuringly stroking her back, cuddling her close against him.  
  
[I don't deserve you. Why did you ever fall in love with an idiot like me?]  
  
[It's not like I had a choice.] Meryl replied teasingly. [Really Vash, you aren't an idiot and you deserve to be loved. I know you don't love... ]  
  
[Stop,] Vash put his head against hers. [It hurts me that you'd even think that anymore. Even if it's not safe for me to admit it, I do love you.]  
  
[You do?] Meryl looked up into his eyes.  
  
[Yes.] She leaned up to kiss him again, and several minutes went by.  
  
[All right-] Vash finally managed. [Let's focus. I'm not mad and you're not mad. Whatever is happening is no one's fault. But what is causing it? Why is this happening now?]  
  
[Well, it's only since...] Meryl flushed.  
  
[Right.] Vash flushed too.  
  
[Hasn't this happened before? I mean you've been alive for a long time Vash. What about your other women?]  
  
[My other women?] Vash blushed. [Uh, no.]  
  
[So it's only me. Then we definitely can't blame you.] Vash twitched, but Meryl spoke before he could. [I wish I had some actual family members to ask- maybe they were all psychics...]  
  
[What happened to your real family?]  
  
[I don't know. Dad always said he found me. He never said where. I have an adoption certificate, but no birth document. Dad said there wasn't one.]  
  
[No information about your real parents on the adoption certificate?]  
  
[No. It just says 'unknown'.] Meryl frowned up at him, then leaped out of his embrace.  
  
[What?]  
  
"Vash- stay away from me. Look..." She lifted a strand of her hair. The blond tips were longer now- half an inch. "Yours are getting longer too."  
  
[Meryl...]  
"Don't! Maybe talking that way makes it worse." Meryl's eyes were wide and panicky. She turned and grabbed her clothes, throwing them on quickly.  
  
"Meryl- don't- what are you doing?"  
  
"Leaving," she replied. "I don't want to hurt you."  
  
"Meryl- no! Wait!" She opened the door and was gone. Vash cursed, realizing the sheet was not appropriate for following her in.  
  
"What the hell's going on Tongari?" Wolfwood was stretched out on the couch, Millie next to him. "We've been waiting for you two to wake up so we could go to dinner, and Meryl just took off like a tornado."  
  
"Uh.. go without us."  
  
"Tongari-" Wolfwood sat up. "Your hair!"  
  
"I know. See ya!"  
  
The street was nearly deserted. No sign of a short insurance girl anywhere. [Meryl, damnit! Where are you? Come back!] No answer. Vash cursed again and picked a direction. He turned a corner and nearly ran into Sam.  
  
"Hey Vash, I was just on my way to the hotel to round you guys up for dinner."  
  
"Did you see Meryl?" Vash grabbed at him.  
  
"Uh- no. Why?" Sam looked at him narrowly. "Did you do something to my sister?"  
  
"No- nothing like that. She's.." Vash paused, collected himself. "Sam, this is going to sound really odd, but where did your Dad find Meryl? Do you know?"  
  
"Uh...no. Just that she was out there by herself someplace." Sam gestured towards the dunes. "Mom might know." Sam's eyes narrowed. "Why?"  
  
"It might be important." Sam frowned.  
  
"What does this have to do with anything now? Meryl's my sister- adopted or not."  
  
"It might be important to her. If she was upset, where would she go?"  
  
"That's easy." Sam turned and pointed at the plant bulb. "She said it was always peaceful there. She'd sit by the wall of the old ship by the plant." Vash closed his eyes.  
  
[Sibling? Can you hear me?]  
  
[[Yes brother. Can I help you?]]  
  
[Is this girl near you now?] Vash sent a mental picture. A wave of recognition came from the plant.  
  
[[Yes, little sister is here. She is sad. Will you help her, brother?]] Vash opened his eyes. Sam was staring at him.  
  
"Vash- did you know your hair..?"  
  
"Yeah. Uh, thanks Sam. See ya!"  
  
"Vash!" Sam rolled his eyes as the gunman vanished. "What the hell is up with him?" 


	12. Weapon

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Please note: Just like last time [ ] are telepathic thoughts. I'll [[ ]] for the plant. Lots of explanation here... Yes, I played merry hell with the Trigun universe, but I did say this was AU. Besides, it could work...  
  
Meryl was curled against the dull metal wall of the old ship. The plant bulb hung above her. She had come here automatically. She always retreated here when she was upset. It was just a calming place. Meryl took a deep breath, letting the soothing atmosphere wash over her...  
  
[[Little sister, you are upset.]] Another wave of soothing reassurance. Meryl blinked. That wasn't Vash. [[It will be all right...]] It couldn't be the plant?  
  
[Are you... talking to me?]  
  
[[You can hear me now?]] A wave of delight radiated from the plant. [[Before you could only feel!]]  
  
[What...do you mean?]  
  
[[Before I could only reach you this way...]] A feeling of safety and warmth washed over Meryl. A familiar feeling- the way she always felt near the plant. [[Now we can communicate specific thoughts!]]  
  
[No- we shouldn't- it's not safe!] Meryl stood up, panicked, thinking of what she'd done to Vash.  
  
[[Of course it's safe,]] the plant radiated amusement.  
  
[How do you know?]  
  
[Meryl?! Where are you?] That was Vash. Meryl shrank into the shadows.  
  
[[She is here, brother.]] The plant said. Meryl glared up at it for a second before Vash appeared. He grabbed her before she had a chance to move.  
  
[Meryl, please.]  
  
"Vash, it's not safe! I'm hurting you!"  
  
[[How is she hurting you brother? You don't feel like you're in pain.]] The plant questioned.  
  
[She thinks she is. Because of this]. Vash tugged on his hair and sent a quick burst of explanatory images at the plant. The plant responded with confusion.  
  
[[But that is just part of the charging process. As long as neither of you are turning white, then it's fine. ]]  
  
[Charging process?] Vash looked up at the plant.  
  
[[You are feeding her your energy, as you were created to do.]]  
  
[Sister, I am confused. I've never fed a human energy before. Why now?]  
  
[[She is not a human. No more than you are.]]  
  
[What?] Meryl gaped up at the plant. [What am I?]  
  
[[You are like us, but unlike us, you have a specific function. We can create anything. You have only one function. To uncreate. ]]  
  
[Uncreate? That doesn't sound good.] Meryl shook her head. [I still don't understand.]  
  
[[You were created, like the plants, from a human base. We were created to help the humans when they found a new home. You were one of the ones built to protect them.]]  
  
[Protect them? But then, I still don't...] Meryl shook her head.  
  
[[Some of the people from Earth had been part of secret experiments. The same experiments that made us - but these were to make weapons. Living weapons. They were hidden among the others on board the ships. When the ships fell, no one was left who knew which ones had been the experiments and which the people. They interbred here with the humans.]] The plant explained.  
  
[That does make sense,] Vash agreed thinking of some of the odd people he had run across in his travels- the Nebraska Family, most of the Gung-ho guns...  
  
[So, we are... plants?] Meryl sounded a bit stunned.  
  
[[Not exactly. You came after. You are a mix of plant and human and... an unknown factor.]] Vash grinned.  
  
[So, the plants are not the top of evolution. That might shock my brother. So, Meryl is one of these experiments?]  
  
[[Yes.]]  
  
[Why didn't I know before?] She asked.  
  
[[You had to mature enough to use your power and find your mobile plant.]]  
  
[My mobile plant?] Meryl looked at Vash.  
  
[[Yes. You are one of the ones that needs a power source. An easily movable one. So the mobile plants were developed to help you and those like you.]]  
  
[We were?] It was Vash's turn to sound stunned.  
  
[[Yes. I should know. My original home was the lab where they did the experiments.]] The plant sounded amused. [[Why do you think I have more of a personality than our sisters? I was one of the later models- a step before you.]] Vash sat down. He was quiet for a long moment. Meryl looked at him, worried.  
  
[So, Meryl is charging up? For what? How do we know when the process is complete?]  
  
[[Relax brother. She isn't going to explode,]] the plant said dryly. [[And you aren't going to give up all your energy and wither away. You two were created for long term use. Your levels will even out soon. ]]  
  
[But then, once I'm charged...]  
  
[[You'll be able to use that power. Your mobile plant has learned to channel his energy- but not well. You should be able to do the same. You should practice.]]  
  
[I don't want to blow a hole in the moon!] The plant laughed merrily.  
  
[[That's what I meant when I said not well! The mobile plants tend to just expend all that energy. You will be able to use it more precisely. I will help you.]]  
  
[You will?] Vash asked her.  
  
[[Of course, but not now. It's getting late and others are looking for you.]] 


	13. Explaining

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Sorry for the long delay! This chapter was a struggle to get done- I know what happens afterwards, but I had to find a way to get the explanation stuff out of the way. Hang in there- Knives is on his way....  
  
"What are we going to tell the others?" Meryl asked as they walked back to her mother's house.  
  
"Do we have to tell them anything?" Meryl punched his arm.  
  
"Hair color?"  
  
"Oh, uh, yeah, that would be kinda hard to explain, wouldn't it?" Vash grinned.  
  
"Yes it would." Meryl stopped walking. "I don't think I can tell them that I'm... well, a weapon...but..."  
  
"Then we don't tell them that. We tell them that you're like me. Millie and Wolfwood would understand."  
  
"But my family? They don't know what you are. What if- what if they can't handle this?" Vash reached out and put an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Meryl, they love you. Have faith in them. It will be fine."  
  
"I hope you're right."  
  
Much to Meryl's amazement, Vash was right. They arrived at her mother's house to find a nervous group of people who at first seemed to be happy that she was found, rather than upset over her hair color. When her mother finally asked her about it, Meryl explained, with many nervous stops and starts, part of what the plant had told her.  
  
Only Wolfwood looked puzzled by the explanation.  
  
"So she's like you-" he said to Vash when they finished. "But why is your hair changing colors?"  
  
"The plant here said the color change was just our levels balancing out. We're not really sure what that means- but the plant said it couldn't hurt us." That was what the plant had said after all. Meryl was looking at her mother who had sat quietly through the whole explanation.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mom," Meryl said softly. "I know this is difficult.." Mrs. Stryfe shook herself.  
  
"Difficult? Don't be silly honey. You're my daughter no matter what. I don't really understand it, but I love you and that's all that matters." Mrs. Stryfe leaned over and hugged Meryl's shoulders. Sam got up to hug her too. Meryl relaxed in relief.  
  
"I have a question, now," Vash waited until the hugging was over. "Where did your husband find Meryl? If you don't mind me asking?"  
  
"Of course not. John was out with one of the thomases, looking for part of the herd when he found one of the ships. He said it was a total wash- most of it smashed to pieces. Only one section remained."  
  
"The part with the plant," Vash supplied.  
  
"Yes. That's how our town got it. We had to go way out for supplies before that. In the same section was a... well... container." She turned to Meryl. "You were in it honey. Just a baby. Your Dad opened it up and you woke up. He brought you home that day. There wasn't a name or anything on you... we didn't know who you might have belonged to, and he couldn't leave you out there by yourself."  
  
"I'm glad he didn't," Meryl smiled.  
  
"He didn't find anything else?" Vash asked.  
  
"Nope. He went back several times to look. John wanted to make sure there were no more people stranded out there like Meryl was."  
  
"Dad was a good man," Sam added.  
  
"And Mom's marrying another one tomorrow," Meryl decided to change the topic. "Is everything ready?" The talk turned to wedding plans.  
  
[Well, that went better than I hoped.] Meryl said to Vash as they walked up the stairs behind Millie and Wolfwood.  
  
[What did you think they were going to do, Meryl? They love you. It doesn't matter to them what you are]. Wolfwood opened the door to the room.  
  
"Okay you two, spill it." Wolfwood said abruptly, making Meryl jump, as he closed the door behind them.  
  
"Huh?" Vash looked at him.  
  
"There's more to this than you were telling us. I know Meryl's family didn't notice, but I did. I know you Vash. Something is up."  
  
Vash folded his arms across his chest and frowned. Wolfwood mimicked the pose and glared at him. "C'mon, level with us, you two. It can't be that bad." Meryl touched Wolfwood's arm, gently.  
  
"I'm a weapon. A plant-based weapon. One that needs a mobile plant to charge up."  
  
"And Vash is the mobile plant?" Wolfwood looked from one of them to the other. "Holy..."  
  
Meryl cut him off before he could finish. "Don't. I'm not going to go boom anytime soon."  
  
"That's a relief," Millie laughed. Wolfwood looked at her in amazement. How could she take this so lightly?  
  
"She's a weapon, Millie!" He pointed out.  
  
"She's Meryl, Nick. Relax." Millie smiled back at him. Wolfwood put his hands in the air.  
  
"Fine, fine. I'm going to bed. Got a wedding to perform and all tomorrow..."  
  
"Don't worry about him," Millie told the other two after he left. "He just needs some time to think about it." She followed after the preacher.  
  
[Vash?] Meryl looked at him.  
  
[Millie's right. Wolfwood will be fine in the morning. We need to get some sleep.] 


	14. Exploding

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Again, thanks for your patience and all your reviews. Warnings: Knives. That says it all really.

Meryl helped her mother adjust the skirt of her wedding dress. "You look great Mom."

"You do too, dear," her mother smiled back at her. "I just hope everything goes well. The first time I did this the minister dropped the prayer book in the middle of the ceremony and lost his place."

"Mr. Wolfwood won't do that," Meryl smiled and added mentally- [if he knows what's good for him!]

[Now, now,] Vash teased her. [You know you can't do anything to him. Millie would kill you.]

[I know, I know... But then I could practice!]

[You don't need practice, love.]

She smirked. The plant had given her a few lessons in controlling her power and Meryl had taken to them like a duck to water. It was what she was created to do after all.

She still didn't like the idea of being created to destroy, but she knew that she could use her gift to benefit mankind somehow. She'd find something that the destructive power could be used for. But not today, today was a day of creation, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it.

...................

The whole town had turned out to see the wedding. They held it in the town square by the cement marker that all towns on Gunsmoke had. Bright colored tents covered tables laden with food for the reception. Children were out in their Sunday best playing tag in the dusty street.

Meryl smiled, she remembered when she was younger and ran carefree like that. Yes, this town held many pleasant memories for her, and – she wished fervently – may someday host another wedding for her to remember. She smiled at the thought and brushed at her changed hair self-consciously. It had remained that odd half and half color, even during her 'lessons'.

[Is something wrong Meryl?] Vash asked.

[No, just nostalgia at being home again, and seeing mom get married.] She responded with a mental hug.

[Hey, cut that out, that tickles!] Vash protested weakly.

Meryl grinned and turned her attention over to the "portable" alter that Wolfwood had set up. It consisted of a rectangle shaped folding card table covered by one of one of Mrs. Strife's best knit table cloths draped over top of it. Millie had donated the large cross necklace she always wore so that the front of the "alter" would have a holy symbol on it. But the crowning glory was the large cloth wrapped cross that was set atop a footstool and over looked the scene.

Meryl was still a bit miffed that he had chosen to use his cross punisher as a prop for the wedding, but Mille had talked her into it. Some of the smaller girls had strung flowers across it and the resulting image had made Vash laugh, though he wouldn't say why.

Then it was time to start. The soon-to-be married couple stood in front of the preacher, hands clasped, as their family and friends gathered around them.

Thanks to Millie, Wolfwood looked nearly respectable as he addressed the couple in front of him.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

---

As the ceremony progressed Meryl began to feel twitchy. There was no other way to describe it. She constantly fought the urge to look around and search for a threat that something was telling her was there.

She looked over at Vash. He looked calm, but those yellow sunglasses of his were blocking his eyes and she couldn't be sure.

[Vash?]

[What?]

[Do you- feel something?]

[Yes.]

[What is it?]

[Knives. He's coming here.] Meryl stiffened. [Don't. He's not here yet.]

[We have to do something!]

[I'll lure him out of town before he gets here.]

[You think...] Meryl stopped.

The suns had been beating down with fierce heat as always, illuminating everything with light. That light suddenly vanished.

"If there is any reason..." Wolfwood paused and looked up. "Oh hell."

A SEEDS ship floated above the town. It was battered and in bad shape, but menacing all the same.

"RUN!" Vash yelled.

"What is that thing?" Sam demanded. Most of the townsfolk had run, but the cavalry unit had held their ground.

"Go protect the others!" Meryl called out to her brother and cousins. "Go! We'll handle this part!" Wolfwood had already unwrapped his cross.

Her brother opened his mouth, but Meryl glared back. "Vash can handle this! Go! The townspeople need you!"

"Please!" Millie added, as she unslung her stun gun. "Make sure they get to safety."

Sam nodded and gestured to the others. They took off after the already-vanished townsfolk.

Seconds later the streets were empty except for Vash and his three companions.

"Now what?" Wolfwood demanded.

"He's here." Vash looked towards the marker.

A soft clapping broke the silence. "Nicely done my brother." Knives appeared from behind the marker, a sardonic smile on his face.

"Knives," Vash had his gun out and pointed at his brother in the next heartbeat. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't stop in and visit? Isn't that what you are doing?" Knives's eyes traveled over Vash. "What have you been doing to yourself my dear brother? You seem a bit- drained."

"I can still take you out."

"Try and this town goes with me. My ship's weapons are fully operational." Knives smiled as Vash snarled. "Ah, I thought that would change your mind." His eyes moved over the other three. "Good to see you Chapel."

"Wish I could say the same." Wolfwood growled back.

"And the insur..." Knives paused as he finally took a good look at Meryl. "What is this?" He took a step towards Meryl and Vash moved in front of her.

"Leave her alone."

"What is she? She feels like one of us Vash!" Knives turned on his brother. Vash didn't answer. God only knew what Knives would do with Meryl if he knew what she really was.

"Vash!" His brother snapped. "_What is she_?"

"She's mine." Knives's eyes darkened and he frowned.

"If you won't tell me, then I will find out myself!" He made a gesture and a windstorm suddenly kicked dust into the air, making the others cough and cover their eyes. Even Vash had to squint behind his glasses.

When Vash finally managed to rub the grit out of his eyes, Knives was gone and the ship was starting to drift away.

"Everyone okay?" He managed.

"Fine," Millie coughed.

"Okay," the preacher managed.

"Meryl?" Vash said after a minute and cast a glance around the square. "Meryl?"

"Oh no!" Millie looked up at the ship. "That's what he meant!"

"Damn it!" Vash swore.

"How are we going to get her back?" Wolfwood asked again.

"I don't know, but we are." Vash frowned at his brother's flying ship.

........................................

Meryl blinked at her surroundings. Where the hell was she? A metal room? She looked around cautiously. She was alone. How did she get here? A moment ago she had been standing on the street with Vash and the others. His brother had been angry over something Vash had said and for a minute Meryl had feared for her town, for her family. Knives was an unstoppable evil. The exact opposite of...

[Vash?] She reached out to him and was relieved to hear him answer.

[Meryl?! Are you okay?] He sounded frantic.

[Am I on the ship?]

[Yes...] His voice sounded faint. He couldn't be nearby.

[You aren't though- you're on the ground?]

[Yes. Don't worry. We'll get you back.] The floor was swaying a bit under her feet. She was in Knives's ship. The others weren't. A glimmer of an idea formed in her brain.

[Are we near the town? It feels like the ship is moving.] If they were far enough away..

[It is, but we'll catch it. Hang on til we get there!] This was her chance to use her gift in a helpful way. She took a deep breath.

[No. This is my chance Vash.] She told him and felt his anguish as he realized what she meant.

[NO! You can't! You'll die too! The whole ship will go up!]

[Maybe, but Knives won't ever be able to hurt you again. Everyone will be safe.] That was the important part. It didn't matter what happened to her.

...................................

"Vash!" Millie was shaking him.

"She's going to blow it up," Vash said dazedly.

"But- it's way up there! She'll die too!" Millie panicked.

"I KNOW THAT! She's not listening to me!" [Damnit Meryl! You can't do this to me!] Vash pleaded with her.

[He's coming this way. I have to do this now.] He recognized the tone. Meryl was a very determined woman and she was set on this path. He tried anyway, desperate.

[You can't leave me alone... Meryl- please- don't leave me!]

[I love you- always. Take care of yourself.] Another mental hug.

[No! Meryl!] "NO!!" He yelled.

The ship exploded.


	15. Hoping

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine.

Thanks for the reviews. No cliffhanger this time. Promise!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Wolfwood watched disbelievingly as the ship exploded. Millie stood next to him, her face wet with tears. She reached out to him and he pulled her into his arms.

Vash remained where he was, kneeling in the dirt. Wolfwood looked down at him, and that cool clinical part of him noted that Vash's hair had reverted completely back to blonde.

They watched the debris rain down. Meryl had timed it perfectly. None of it would hit the city. It was almost beautiful in a way. Wolfwood muttered an Ave Maria, half under his breath as they watched.

Millie was shaking in his arms. He held her tightly, trying to soothe, but knowing that this hurt would not be eased so quickly.

"She's gone..." Vash muttered. "I can't feel her anymore..." His voice was twisted with pain, and so soft that Wolfwood could barely hear him.

"Maybe she's just unconscious somewhere," Wolfwood tried to soothe him. Vash got to his feet, and if Millie hadn't have been in the way, Wolfwood was sure that Vash would've decked him. The blue-green eyes were dark with anger and pain.

"No," Vash said flatly. "I can't feel Knives either. They're dead." He turned on his heel and stalked away.

"Should I go after him?" Millie asked.

"No," Wolfwood told her. "He needs some time now. Let him be. We have to tell Meryl's family what happened."

Millie nodded agreement, and the two of them headed off to where the townsfolk had taken cover. They walked slowly, knowing that their news would be unwelcome.

Meryl's family rushed to meet them.

"What happened?"

"What was that explosion?"

"Where's Meryl?"

"Was anyone injured?"

Wolfwood kept one arm around Millie for support but raised his other hand in the air. The crowd got quiet.

"That explosion was the ship you saw earlier. It blew up about a mile out of town." Wolfwood took a breath. "It belonged to Vash's estranged brother, Knives."

"Knives? Like that name written on town marker in Caracas?" Zoë said.

"That's him." Wolfwood nodded, and the cavalry members tensed, throwing each other guarded looks.

"Why did he come here?" Meryl's mother asked, her eyes wide.

"To cause Vash trouble and grief," Wolfwood answered. "Just like he always does. He took Meryl."

"Meryl?" Sam growled. "But his ship...!"

"She was on it," Wolfwood said softly. "She caused the explosion."

"WHAT?!?"

"Meryl knew that there was only one way to stop Knives. She saw her chance and took it." Wolfwood reached out and placed a hand on Meryl's mother's shoulder. "I am so very sorry."

"There might be a chance..." Sam gestured to his squad. "Let's go do some search and rescue. I'm not sitting here if there's a chance that we might find her."

Wolfwood thought about dissuading them, but he knew they needed to do something. So he watched as they loaded themselves into cars and took off towards the crash site.

Wolfwood thought about stopping them. But he knew how strong the power of faith could be, and he didn't want to take that faint hope away from Meryl's family.

"We need to go to," Millie tugged his arm. "If Meryl survived, Knives might have too. They won't know what to do with him."

Wolfwood wanted to protest that he wouldn't know what to do either, but he could make a good last stand. He fetched his cross punisher from the altar and followed Millie to a car.

Action was always easier than words.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Vash had headed towards the plant, seeking comfort and hopefully answers.

[[Little brother? You are agitated.]] The plant's voice greeted him when he got close enough.

[Didn't you feel it?] Vash glared up at the bulb. [That was Meryl! She caused that explosion!]

[[I thought I recognized the energy. Did her powers go out of control? They shouldn't of...]]

[She did it deliberately! My brother kidnapped her and took her on his ship. She destroyed it, hoping to destroy him as well. Did she succeed?]

[[I do not know,]] the plant replied. [[I do not sense him now, but if his energy is low, I would not be able to. I know he was at full power. In order to cause such an explosion, little sister must have also siphoned power from him.]]

[And destroyed herself in the process!] Vash snapped.

[[Perhaps,]] the plant agreed sadly. [[But perhaps not. Little sister's power is like a hurricane. It's destructive force flows around her and she is the calm in the center of that storm.]]

Vash looked up at the plant hopefully. [Then she might be...?]

[I do not know, little brother. But do not give up hope yet.]


	16. Finding

Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine. Sorry for the delay! Thanks to all the reviewers!

Vash left the plant at a run. He needed to find Wolfwood, convince the priest to go hunting for Meryl with him. He was a bit dismayed to find that they had already gone.

Meryl's family had gone to find her, one way or the other, and he felt a prick of guilt. He'd gone to sulk, they had taken action.

It was an easy thing though to borrow a car and go after them, seeking Meryl out the best he could, looking for a sign of her.

It was late when he dragged himself back into town, tired and dusty, hoping that the others had more success than he had.

Wolfwood was on the porch outside the inn, the faint glow at the tip of his cigarette marking his place in the darkness.

"Find her?" He asked Vash and Vash felt his heart sink. That meant they hadn't found her either.

"No," he admitted. "I was hoping you had." He let himself slump against the railing for a moment. "Tell me where you looked and I'll go back..."

"Vash, it's dark," Wolfwood pointed out. "You'll have to wait until morning now. The others are resting now, and so should you."

For some reason, the calm tone in the preacher's voice infuriated him. Vash pushed Wolfwood up against the wall, nearly snarling.

"If it was Millie out there could you just sit and wait? _Rest?_"

"No," Wolfwood replied, "I wouldn't."

"Then don't tell me to." Vash made his hands release the preacher's coat.

"Mr. Vash?" Millie stood in the doorway, the light from inside giving her a glowing outline. "Before you go out, we need to show you what we found."

Vash blinked at her. What they had found? Why did that sound ominous?

He followed Millie inside without protest. She led him up the stairs and to a small room. Stretched out on the bed, unconscious and strangely vulnerable looking was Knives.

His hair had turned white- only a faint touch of gold now at the tips. Vash remembered what the plant had said. Had Meryl drained him so completely? But how was he still alive?

Vash stood beside the bed and reached a hand down to touch Knives's hand. His brother felt cold to the touch.

Knives's eyes opened and Vash braced himself.

He was not prepared for the sweet smile that Knives gave him. A smile he hadn't seen for a very long time.

"Who are you?" His brother asked, his tone bewildered. "You aren't the one who was here earlier."

"I'm right here," Millie said from the doorway. "This is Mr. Vash. He's your brother."

"Brother?" The expression of bewilderment on Knives's face didn't change. "What's that? Did I know you before?"

"Yeah," Vash nodded. He reached out to the plant. Sister?

I see him brother. He's drained. Little sister pulled most of his power and that and the shock from the blast have wiped his memory. He's not pretending. He truly does not remember you- or anything much for that matter. I don't think he ever will. I didn't realize little sister could do this.

How did he survive?

If he was close to little sister and she was the center, then he also was in the eye of the hurricane.

Then if he survived, she must've... Vash blinked and looked back down at Knives again. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Knives replied. "I'm sorry I don't remember you."

"It's okay." Vash said reassuringly. He looked back at Millie. "The plant says he'll stay like this. Can you keep an eye on him while I go look for Meryl?"

Millie's mouth opened and he could see that she was about to tell him that it was too dark to go looking for Meryl, that he should wait. However, she caught herself and just nodded.

"Of course Mr. Vash."

Vash walked back down the stairs. Wolfwood was still outside.

"Well?"

"The plant says his memory was wiped. She doesn't think it will come back soon, if at all. You'll keep an eye on him?" Vash settled his coat more firmly on his shoulders. "Just in case?"

"Of course. We found him about two miles out to the southwest." Wolfwood took a final drag on his cigarette and dropped it, crushing it beneath his shoe. "Be careful out there Vash."

"Always am," Vash replied and went back down the steps and out to the car.

He drove the jeep southwest, occasionally stopping to examine the occasional piece of ship. The damn thing had exploded in such a way that pieces had been flung for miles. Where had Meryl ended up? He kept his mind open and his senses alert, hoping to find something.

Meryl? Where are you? Answer me insurance girl! He broadcast over and over, as the sky lightened and the first sun started to rise. When he finally got an answer he nearly crashed the jeep into a nearby boulder.

Vash? A faint brush.

Meryl! He spun the jeep in a tight turn, pressing on the accelerator in his haste to track that tiny whisper.

A large chunk of ship seemed to rise up out of the sand. Vash stopped the jeep and leapt out, running towards that faint call.

It was a large chunk of metal, twisted in on itself. There was no sign of the small girl anywhere near it. Had he been wrong? Was it farther along?

MERYL! He tried.

Vash? The response was weak. Where are you? It's so dark...

I'm here. "I'm here," he repeated out loud.

"Vash?" Meryl's voice. _Inside_ that chunk of metal. Vash circled it, looking for an opening, a weakness. "Vash?"

"I'm here sweetheart. I'm looking for a way to get to you. Can you see any light at all?" Vash tried to keep his voice calm. He might have to go back to town and get help, but that meant leaving Meryl here. And what if there wasn't much air left in there?

"There is some," her faint voice answered his.

"Can you reach it?"

"Barely," Meryl sounded tired.

There it was. A thin crack in the metal. Meryl's fingertips reached out through the crack. So she did have air. Vash reached out and caught her fingers in his.

"Meryl. Are you hurt anywhere?" He should've asked it sooner, he knew it. His eyes measured the crack. Could he pry it open? He was desperate to get to her. To hold her tight and never ever let her out of his sight again.

"I... I don't know. I don't think so." Her voice sounded slightly stronger. "Vash- I want to get out."

"I know. I want you out. I just am trying to figure out how to get you. The metal is all bent. I'm going to try and pry it up a bit. Move your hand."

He stuck his prosthetic fingertips in the crack. The metal gave, but just a little. Meryl could slip her whole hand out now. He kissed the palm gently.

"Vash, get out of the way. Let me try."

That made him pause. He ran a hand through his hair and wondered how much of it had turned black. He thought of his brother's white hair.

He though of Meryl trapped inside that narrow metal space and moved out of the way.

Go ahead, sweetheart. I'm clear.

The metal split with a resounding crack.

Meryl lay panting, her hair plastered against her forehead. She smiled at him when he bent over her. "You're back to normal," she reached up, tugged at his hair and passed out.

Vash picked her up gently and carried her to the jeep. He wondered what would happen when they got back to town. He arranged her carefully in the passenger seat and let his hand run through her completely blonde hair.


End file.
